


The Stuff of Heroes

by starsinjars



Category: Sherlock (TV), 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Crossover, M/M, moved from ffnet, xover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-13 06:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2140701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsinjars/pseuds/starsinjars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because after the Fall, John wasn't the only one who didn't lose faith. But unlike John, Conan was going to prove it, regardless of a certain, nosy phantom thief tagging along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is Detective Conan-cetric. I will underline when Conan and Kid speak in Japanese when they reach their destination.
> 
> I have not seen Series Three (no spoilers) and will therefore make no references to it.
> 
> I wonder how well anime, manga, and video game fics do on this site.
> 
> Thank you in advance for reading.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After hearing it on the news, he couldn't believe it.

It just wasn't possible.

And he was going to prove it.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Otou-san, have you seen Conan-kun?"

"Hmm?" The private detective looked up from his newspaper. "The brat? I thought he was with you."

"Conan-kun!" Ran called, walking around the room to look for any signs of the boy.

"Perhaps he already left for school?" he suggested as he turned the page. "Does it really even matter? God knows he acts so much older for his age."

Ran turned to her father. "He never leaves without me! Something must be wrong… Let me call some people..."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hello? Oh, hi - What? Oh, no we - Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Yes, I'll let you know right away. Good bye and good luck!"

"Who was that?" Heiji asked as soon as Kazuha hung up her phone.

"It was Ran-chan. She says that Conan-kun's gone missing and asked if we've seen him."

"Ku - I mean, Conan-kun's missing?" Heiji turned wide-eyed.

Slightly disturbed by her friend's sudden change in attitude, Kazuha hesitated when she replied, "Uh, yeah. Listen -"

She didn't get to finish as Hattori broke off into a mad dash, moving away from her and to the train station that would take him to Tokyo to investigate.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was going perfectly well. They were loud, he was silent, and nobody suspected a thing. Until his phone went off, rather loudly.

Aoko jumped slightly in the air while Kaito frowned to face their follower. "How long have you been stalking us?" he asked, rather bluntly, but was forced to wait for an answer as Saguru answered his phone.

"Hello? Oh, yes, Mouri-san," Saguru spoke, causing the company to turn silent as his face shifted from annoyance to confusion. "No, there haven't been any leads on Kid. Why… Oh. No, I haven't seen Conan-kun, not since the last case. Why yes, of course I'll let you know. Goodbye." He hung up the phone while Kaito approached him.

"What was that?"

"I don't believe it was any of your business," replied Saguru, which caused Kaito to become snippy. "Unless…" He eyed him carefully. "There was a reason as to why you would be concerned that a certain child detective named Edogawa Conan is missing?"

Kaito blinked as he stored the information for further study, away from Tantei-san. He'll just have to cut class later to investigate. "… Who?"

"That's what I thought you would say."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The phone rang while Haibara was in the middle of something extremely important, causing her to become irritated when she was forced to end said activity to go and answer the phone.

"What?" she snapped.

"A-ah, Ai-chan? Uh, I know it's early and all, but do you think that I can speak to the Professor, please?"

Haibara removed the phone from her ear to hear the shower running across the hall. "I'm sorry, but he's not available at the moment. Would you like for me to take a message?"

"Oh, okay then. No, it's fine. It's just... Y-you wouldn't have happened to have seen Conan-kun recently, would you?"

"…" The phone dropped from Haibara's hand and lay there for a few moments before she picked it up again.

"Ai-chan?"

Ai just hung up the phone, allowing her bacon to burn in the pan.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Alright, thank you for your time." Ran hung up the phone before picking up to dial again.

"Oi, there's a note over here," her father called, picking it up from the table.

"What? I would have seen it!" She slammed down the phone and ran to her father. "Give it here!" She grabbed it from her hands and read it quickly. "It says that his mother came by to pick him up really early."

"Well then, there you go -"

"I don't believe it."

"What?"

Ran crumpled up the note before tossing it away. "I mean I don't believe that Conan-kun would have just left without saying goodbye!" She dashed back to the phone and pushed some buttons.

"Hello? I would like to report a missing child."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Oh? And who do we have here? An unaccompanied minor?"

Conan stared at the lady before blinking. He took out a 'Japanese to English' translation book from his pocket and flipped through it before the woman just repeated her question in English.

This time he nodded at the lady as he shuffled his feet, anxious to board the plane. "No ma'am, my mother is already onboard. May I please go?" he answered in perfect English with just a hint of a Japanese accent.

The woman nodded as Conan walked on board, only with his backpack for about twelve hours.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was a restless twelve hours before finally the plane landed in Heathrow Airport in London. Conan dashed past security and out the airport to try and hail a cab.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, he realized that perhaps he didn't think this plan through.

"Shit," he muttered as he bit his thumb, plotting on what to do.

"Do you need help, little boy?" Conan turned to find a man gesturing to him kindly.

"I got separated from my parents, I think they left for the house already..." He started to sniffle.

"Well, where do you live? I can take you there." The man offered, reaching out for Conan's backpack who jerked back in response.

"It's fine. I'll just call them," Conan replied, taking out a phone.

"Conan-kun! Conan!" A blonde woman wearing black sunglasses waved as the boy turned and found himself in a hug.

"Come on, let's go, hmm?" She spoke in Japanese to the boy before she acknowledged the man and spoke in English, "Thank you so much! We thought we lost him! You are in big trouble, young man." She didn't allow the stranger to reply as she dragged Conan by the ear into a hailed cab, hopped inside and they drove away.

Conan exhaled a sigh of relief, perhaps too early, before scrutinizing who had saved yet kidnapped him at the same time. "Do I know you?"

The woman stuck out her tongue. "You don't remember me? I sat right behind you during that extra long flight,  _Tantei-kun~_ "

"Kid?" Conan gasped, as he _didn’t_ know that Kaitou Kid was behind him.

Before he could say anything else, however, the driver turned and interjected, "Hey, where are we going?"

Kid opened his mouth to answer, but Conan beat him to it. "St. Bartholomew's Hospital, please."

The cab driver looked grim for a moment before giving a shrug with a nod and turned away from his passengers.

"So, would you like to explain to me why you ran away from your beloved Ran-chan, not leaving a note or anything to hint as to where you would disappear to? You're lucky that they - or Mouri-san at least - were franticly looking for you. I was able to sneak a note on the table, but I don't think they bought it…" Kid questioned, causing Conan to pout in response.

"What about you?! How did you find me?" Conan retorted, not willing to spill his secrets.

"Let's just say that a certain bird told me where you were," Kid replied off-handedly, looking outside the street to watch the traffic of London, England. "Huh, England ain't bad at all," he commented to the cabbie, who didn't reply.

"Isn't. 'Ain't' isn't a word," Conan corrected. "I should have noticed the white trailing me." Conan sighed. "How fluent is your English?"

"Not as fluent as yours. I heard you, Mr. Fluent-in-English-with-just-a-hint-of-a-Japanese-accent," Kid answered. "I can understand and respond. It wouldn't be a problem. I know that you'll need me. No one in their right mind will let a six year old run around London unaccompanied."

Conan rolled his eyes. "And you decided to fix that by disguising as my mother?"

"Have any better ideas?"

"How about my brother, or my father? Why do you have to be a girl?"

"Because of reasons."

Kid knew that Conan wasn't going to accept that answer, as apparent from the glare he was giving him. "You told the flight attendant that you were with your mother, did you not?"

"Hey, stop trying to distract me. How did you catch up to me so quickly?" Conan brought the conversation back to where he wanted it to go, instead of trailing off like conversations tend to do.

"Well, you know, you left Mouri-san for a real scare there. She was freaking out and calling everybody - asking where you where."

Conan slapped his forehead. "Shit! I did it again!"

"What again?" Kid inquired, quite interested.

"I abandoned her again! Without even thinking about it!" He lowered his face in shame. "Stupid, selfish..."

Kid pat him on the back for comfort. "Well, it must be important if you forgot about Mouri-san. What is it?"

"… Sherlock Holmes," he muttered.

"What?"

"Oi, so you've been up to date on the press, then?" The cab driver intervened on their conversation, causing the passengers to cease talking. "I can't understand a word you're saying but I heard about Sherlock Holmes. Turns out he was a phony. Makin' up all them cases just to make himself famous. Wonder what happened to that Moriarty bloke… oh, look, we're here." He pulled up the cab in front of their destination.

Conan handed him some pounds while Kid exited the vehicle, getting his luggage out from the trunk while waiting for the minor to finish paying the driver. He didn't notice Conan's blank expression while paying, or the fact that he was clenching his left hand into a fist.

"Right, well, welcome to London, the lot of ya," the driver said before speeding away, leaving the detective and thief in front of the building.

"You know I suppose since I'm here I might as well go and steal that Blue Carbuncle up in display in the Tower of London. I mean it was coming to Japan later this fall but might as well right?" Kid looked at Conan for a response only to not find him there, instead entering the hospital.

"H-Hey!" Kid chased after the mini-detective to catch up with him at the receptionist's office. The detective jumped to try and be able to reach the counter but after a few pitiful attempts turned to Kid to give him a lift.

"Hi, I'm looking for a Molly Hooper?" he asked in English with his soprano high child voice, and the woman at the desk looked at him before looking down at her computer.

"Hmm, and who exactly are you, love?" she asked, eyeing Kid suspiciously before he released Conan to let him sit on the counter.

"Ah, she's a friend of my…" He glanced at Kid, who smiled in response. "… Aunt. She told me that she works here and we wanted to surprise visit her!" He spoke so childishly that Kid had to cover his mouth to hide the smile he was sporting from the child's acting.

"Oh, really? I see." The receptionist scrolled on her computer again. "Terribly sorry, love, but it would seem that she hadn't shown up for work today. Most likely a sick day, she's always working here… but now that that Sherlock Holmes has been exposed as the fraud that he is, perhaps she'll take the breaks she deserves, right?"

"You don't know what you're saying!" Conan exploded, causing the lobby to dim in their din while everyone stared at the child.

"Eh heheh," Kid placed his hands over the shoulders of the not-child, and only then did he realize that he was shaking. From anger? "Sorry about that. He has a temper problem. Thank you…" Kid peered at the name-tag. "Mrs. Taylor." He grabbed Conan and lifted him out of the hospital, listening to his jagged breathing.

"Are you okay, Tantei-kun?" Kid asked, genuinely concerned. He had never seen the little detective so riled up. Who was this Sherlock Holmes, exactly? Many people spoke of him, but he didn't trust everyone else's opinion if it made Tantei-kun visibly upset. It made the usually reserved, mature detective act like a broken, disappointed child.

Conan took in deep breaths to calm himself down. "I’m fine, Kid. It’s nothing..."

"Clearly it's not 'nothing' if you exploded on that random woman. You're always so composed." He looked up to the sky, to find sunset red instead of sky blue.

"Look, it's been a long day. Why don't we go and check into a hotel? After being stuck on a plane for twelve hours, still jetlagged, we just need to get our thoughts together." He pointed his finger. "And you need to explain the story as to why you're in London in the first place."

"I… you're right." Conan took out a Blackberry and began to type furiously on the letters of the keyboard. Kid just watched as the newly adapted to technology child typed away on his mobile.

"Instead of gaping at me like I have five heads, why don't you start to hail us another cab? I don't know about you, but I don't think I can walk to the Landmark London," Conan said off-handedly to Kid while typing away.

"… The Landmark London?  _The_ Landmark London?" Kid gave him a look but held out his hand to do as the child commanded.

Conan shrugged. "Yeah." A cab responded to Kid's raised hand, and pulled over. The driver stepped out to take Kid's luggage as Conan told him their destination.

When they finally got inside the cab, Kid managed to get out, "Who  _are_ you?"

Conan gave a sad smile.

"I don't even know anymore."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After checking into the hotel, Conan didn't even need to say a word. As soon as the staff saw him, the two were accompanied to a super deluxe suite filled with everything they could need - towels, room service, free wi-fi with a computer, as well as a balcony. Finally, the thief and detective unraveled themselves.

But this wasn't a vacation, at least not for a certain boy as Conan took out a pair of clothes from his bag while Kid unpacked his suitcase.

"I call the bathroom!" Kid made a mad dash to the restroom while Conan sighed and switched clothing in the bedroom, since Kid was in the bathroom and no one would be watching. Knowing his mother, the drawers were already filled with changes of clothes for him.

He was glad that his parents understood… of why he  _needs_ to be here.

Sherlock couldn't have been a fraud, just couldn't.

"So, what do you think of my new disguise?" Kid stepped out of the restroom.

Looking exactly like Kudou Shinichi.

Conan screamed bloody murder, making Kid panic and mess up his hair, similar to his true persona, as well as switching his eyes for purple and clothes to the hotel provided bathrobe. The hotel room started to ring, and Kid quickly picked it up, shushing the crying child in vain.

"We received calls of screaming, is everything alright?"

That was fast. Kid looked back at Conan, who seems to be in the middle of a panic attack. He racked up his knowledge of English, because the detective was in no state to reply to the phone call.

He coughed for a few moments before answering in a disguised voice, "Sorry, it was nothing. We're just really hungry. Would you mind bringing up something to eat?" He winced, not knowing how they were going to pay for this place, because he sure as hell can't. He only had about a hundred pounds for the whole trip, which he didn't know how long it would last. Oooh, Jii-chan is going to be  _pissed_ …

"Very good, madam. Your meal will be there shortly." Kid hung up the phone without any thanks. He stretched across the bed, cradling the child in his chest, who was starting to sob.

"Shhh, Tantei-kun, it's okay. It's fine. Although I might need to reattach my breasts and wig when the food comes, right now I'm not Kudou Shinichi. Now I'm... Joe. Joe Everyman." He thought about what he said. "Wait…"

"… Idiot," Conan coughed, weakly punching Kid as he continued to sob, the lush fabric of the robe sucking up his tears. He was wide-eyed as his robe was starting to get soaked.

He raised an eyebrow. "But I thought that you were a relative of Kudou Shinichi?"

"… Idiot," Conan whispered once more, sobs turning into heavy breathing as the child shut his eyes into slumber. Kid held him for a few moments before he was forced to place him gently on the bed as the room service alerted them to their arrival. He quickly reattached his wig as well as breasts to finish his disguise to answer the door, grabbing Conan's wallet on the desk since his was in the bathroom.

"Thank you. Umm… How much was it?" he asked, opening the wallet. He stared at it as he saw the many large bills and credit cards, as well as an ID card of Conan Edogawa, all in English and one in Japanese.

"It's on the house, madam. Any patronage of the Kudou family is greatly appreciated." The bellhop gave a wide smile.

"The Kudou family, hmm?" Kid commented before turning back to the bellboy. "Oh, thank you so much for your generosity!" He practically slammed the door in the man's face as he looked at what food they have received.

"Sheppard's pie..." He placed the plate on the table with the wallet and eyed the sleeping detective on the bed.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Tantei-kun,” he whispered as he crawled over to his side of the bed and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Italian lunch in London would be nice.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

When Conan blinked awake the next morning, he was surprised to find Kid's arms over him. While he was still exhausted, he had to follow his mental schedule for today. Visiting St. Bard's hospital was helpful, but he was off-track for suddenly falling asleep from exhaustion. He might have been awake for the past twenty-four hours and was bound to crash, but according to the clock that read 9:27, that was no excuse. He was starting to cut it close.

With a sigh, he struggled to release himself before he tumbled out of the bed, wrapped in sheets yet free while Kid continued to sleep.

He picked up the phone that fell to the floor while flipping open his portable laptop that he brought with him in his carry-on, turning it on. The first thing that he checked was his email, and he got quite a few from the Professor, Hattori, and surprisingly Haibara as well. He slapped himself in the face once more for his rash actions, and quickly notified them that he wasn't in any danger, just on personal leave, his parents knew and approved it, and to tell Ran not to worry.

"Of course, knowing her, she probably already filed a missing person's report," he murmured as he discarded a message that he was planning on typing out to her personally. He shut down the computer and placed it back in his bag, turning to check if Kid was still sleeping. Which he was.

What was he even doing here? Supposedly he left a note at the Mouri Detective Agency since he didn't, but even with the dove, how did he catch up to him so quickly?

But now was not the time to think about such things.

He fished for his bowtie and phone along with a change of clothes from one of the drawers and made his way to the restroom.

A phone call would be better. It was the least he could do. For her.

He turned the faucet for the shower to warm it up and to block anything as well as alert him to where he was in case Kid  _did_ wake up before he dialed the number. He let it ring while he adjusted the bowtie for the voice to use.

Ran picked up the phone, yawning before answering, "Hello?"

"Ah, sorry to wake you -" Shinichi was interrupted.

"Shinichi! You are not going to believe this!" Ran yelled into the phone, causing him to bring it far from his ear. Thank god he put on the shower.

Ow… "W-what?"

"Conan-kun was kidnapped! He just disappeared this morning and I can't find him! There was a note left but I think it was a forgery. It was typed and just recently we received a ransom for him... and I don't know what to do… You haven't seen him, have you?" Ran cried hysterically.

"Actually, I -" He did a double take. "Wait, what ransom?"

"We don't know the details about it yet, but -"

"It's fake."

"What?"

"I have seen Conan-kun - he's right here." Conan brought the bowtie away from his mouth. "Sorry, Ran-nee-chan," he said sheepishly.

Ran exhaled a giant sigh of relief. "Oh thank god… Conan-kun, what happened? Where did you go? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" She sniffled.

It tore his heart that he just abandoned her again without thinking. Idiot! He was just abusing her at this point now. He had to pull away the phone to cough since he was choking up.

But… but this was important to him. He had to do it. Just like he was sure that even if he could have gone back in time, he would have still tried to stop the Black Organization. Just with back up and not as careless.

"My… my mother just suddenly arrived early last night and I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. My… father… has been in an accident," he managed to spit out.

Ran gasped. "Oh my gosh, Conan-kun! I'm so sorry!"

All these lies… This isn't he wanted, nor what Ran deserved.

He shook his head to clear that thought. "Y-yeah, it's, uh, pretty fatal. That's why I'm with Shinichi-nii-chan right now. We don't know if he can make it…" He clenched the phone, shaking his head. He didn't doubt his skill. He could do it. "But we're going to try. I'll try to come back as soon as possible."

"Oh, Conan-kun… It's… It's fine. I understand. I hope for the best. Uh, could I speak to Shinichi, please?"

"S-sure..." Conan brought the bowtie back to his mouth. "Ran?"

"Listen, Shinichi, don't do anything stupid." Her tone was deathly serious.

Shinichi blinked. "What?"

"Conan-kun's going through a rough time right now, so… just don't," She whispered.

"Don't what?" Shinichi was confused.

"I heard about it, you know, about Sherlock Holmes. On the news."

Shinichi was quiet.

"Just… I know you. I know how much you admired the man. So don't... don't do anything stupid." She lowered her voice.

"I know you're disappointed. In fact, since I know you so well, I guess you're probably going to London in the near future, if you're not already there, since I would think that Conan-kun has family in England. But, Conan-kun doesn't need that right now. He admired him too, I just know it. I'm sure that the news of him will just dampen his spirits even more so. Just, be there, for him. Since I can't.

"Anyway, I think Hattori-kun's going to work out this false kidnapping case. I'll tell everyone that Conan-kun's with you as well. Uh, please tell Conan-kun that I'll pray for him and his family, which extends to you as well, and for you to come home." She spoke very softly, that Shinichi couldn't hear her, "But you don't need me to tell you that, because regardless of what I want, it doesn't matter, does it?" Ran released a long sigh, not allowing Shinichi to reply.

"I'll talk to you later, Shinichi. Miss you." Her voice cracked as she hung up the phone.

Left with a dead line, Conan hung up as well. Emotionlessly, he stripped himself of his clothing and climbed into the bathtub.

It was only when he was soaked in water did he allow himself to release the tears that wanted to fall from his eyes.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The cab stopped right in front of a restaurant. This time, Kid paid the man as Conan exited the vehicle, quickly making his way to the entrance of the Italian restaurant.  _Angelo's_  it read.

"Hurry up!" Conan yelled and without waiting for a reply pushed the door of the restaurant.

"Welcome to  _Angelo's_! How many?" A waiter greeted him as he walked in.

"Two, please," Conan answered, turning to look out the window to watch Kid quickly following after him as the cab left. That lone person by that table… could it be?

Just perfect.

"Near the window, please?" he asked as Kid walked in, thankfully not dressed like a mother today. His disguise today was quite strange, looking similar to Shinichi but wasn't him, hair more messy and with violet eyes.

The headwaiter nodded, grabbing two menus and leading the customers to a table near the front of the moderately busy restaurant. Conan took the chance to take a glance at his watch, spotting that the time was just before the lunch rush of noon, at an early time of 11:45.

"Tantei-kun, stop running off like that. Here." Kid handed him the wallet.

"Shhh, don't give it to me. Who gives a six year old their wallet? Hang on a sec," Conan whispered as the two were seated.

"But it's your wallet..." Kid muttered as he placed the money-holding device in his coat pocket.

After sitting down, the waiter asked, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Tea would be lovely, thanks," Conan answered as he grabbed one of the menus to read with Kid following suit.

"Alright then, I'll be back shortly." Their waiter left while Conan stared at the window.

"Uh, Tantei-kun?" Kid inquired, turning himself. "Whatcha looking at?" All he saw was a somewhat crowded street, scarce cars, but quite a few pedestrians.

"Look, don't you see him?" Conan whispered, not pointing as he continued to look out the window.

"Uhh..." Kid stared out the window, searching for whatever had captured his detective's focus.

"Ugh, just stay here and if the waiter comes, just get me some chicken alfredo." Conan didn't wait for a reply as he scooted off his chair and walked to the window, with Kid watching from a safe distance.

He was surprised when he did not go to the window but instead to a lone man slumped over the table next to the window with a mug in his hand and a second across him - as if for another - sitting at the table nearest the glass portal. Kid turned his earring to be able to hear what the mini-detective was saying thanks to the bug he placed on him while in the cab.

"Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to be Dr. John Watson, would you?" Conan started out innocently.

The man rose from his slump, blinked his eyes into focus as he found the source of the voice. "Huh? Oh, yeah… who are you?"

"I don't believe it either you know," Conan replied instead of answering. "There was no way that he could have been lying - about the cases, about Moriarty. And especially," Conan narrowed his eyes while he pushed up his glasses. "About his death."

"… Who are you?" The man that Kid determined to be Dr. John Watson studied Conan carefully.

Conan instead just took the man's hand. "Yep, it's you. Your hand is soft because you've been trying to moisten it with lotion. Since he's gone, you need to start working in order to be able to keep up with the rent, regardless of the fact that your landlady - Mrs Hudson right? - said that it's fine." Conan eyed the cane on the back of the chair. "Your psychosomatic limp is back too, huh?

"Anyway, you've been taking some hours at the hospital - I would like to say St. Bartholomew's? - making your hands rough again since you have to wash your hands all the time, which you try to remedy with lotion since you know the disadvantages of having rough hands."

John opened his mouth to speak but Conan continued, "Also, by the state of your disheveled appearance, you haven't slept since the incident? The bags under your eyes, the beard that's starting to grow... Your mouth still has some traces of the ketchup that you had on your sandwich for breakfast this morning. You just threw on whatever clothes you had that were clean and came here as soon as possible always at the same time of 11:37."

"What -"

"Didn't you take some time off after your blog started to become known even in the press? Still, you desperately needed money and started working again. Currently, you're on your lunch break, rather early, probably ends in about 5 minutes or so… But you're always here at 11:37, because it was the time that you first ever visited this place. With him."

Conan studied the man some more. "You haven't eaten anything, but you were given a plate of buttered pasta. You left it untouched and sent it back; and your hand's itching to get to your mobile."

John opened his mouth once again but Conan just placed his finger over his own lips, smiling curtly. "You're starting to run late, so I can come back later tonight, at 11:35, and we can talk."

"Who the hell do you think you are, kid?" John asked as he stood up, grabbing his coat and cane while he headed out the door.

"Conan Edogawa, detective. And I'm sure that I can prove Sherlock Holmes's innocence as well as the fact that he's still alive. I'll see you in twelve hours, Dr. John Watson." Conan gave a meek smile as John rushed out the door with a heavy frown on his face.

"For the last time, what do you want to eat?" Kid blinked as he realized the annoyed waiter was speaking to him.

"Oh! Uh, two chicken alfredos, please." He smiled sheepishly.

The wait wasn't long, since lunch rush hasn't occurred yet. He expected for the mini-detective to come back at the table, but no, he remained at the door, watching as the doctor hailed for a cab and getting in said cab to go back to the hospital most likely.

Conan was still assessing the area where Dr. Watson was previously sitting when the food arrived. Kid stared at his pasta dish for a moment before picking up his fork to dig in. He knew that it was terribly rude for him to start eating without the rest of the party, but he hasn't eaten in the past twelve hours. He was too tired to eat what the hotel had sent up to them late last night, and airline food was always terrible. The dessert was pretty good though. Hmm, banana bread. He should get some more of that. It was really convenient that he was able to catch the flight. After Hakuba received that phone call, Kaito hurried to figure out what was the situation with Tantei-kun.

They arrived in school with somehow no casualties, and although he was plenty annoyed with Tantei-san for stalking him so early in the morning, he was glad he did. Just for that morning. Never again. But he knew that he would, just as always. It was funny, Hakuba thought that he could sneak up on him.

But now he was itching to find Tantei-kun, ask him what caused him to abandon his beloved Onee-chan, someone who he would protect to the ends of the earth for.

"Hey, Kaito, what's the matter with you?" Aoko bonked him on the head with a rolled up newspaper.

"Ah, sorry, Aoko," He gave a smile. "Lots to think about."

"About that Edogawa Conan?" She asked.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, about to go off in his thoughts again before someone brought him back down.

"And why would that be?" Hakuba interjected, inserting himself into their conversation. "I thought that you didn't know him."

"Of course I know him. I didn't realize we were talking about  _that_ Edogawa Conan," Kaito bluffed. "His name's in the papers with the Kaitou Kid heists."

He was starting to run late. He stood up from his desk and out the door, yelling, "Oops, gotta run, bye~!" and ran past the teacher and out the front gate of the school. He heard the confetti cannons he set up go off just after he left the door.

As soon as he was fifty meters away from the school and was sure that no one, especially Hakuba, was tailing him, he brought two fingers to his lips and let out a soft whistle with this right hand and held out his left hand.

A snow-white dove flew from the distance and landed on its raised perched. Kaito stared into the bird's eyes and the bird stared back. It ruffled its feathers and a ripped piece of paper got caught in the wind but Kaito managed to save it before it flew away.

"… Now why would he go to London?"

Getting the ticket wasn't as difficult as he expected, nor did he believe that he was lucky enough to actually arrive in time - and on the same flight as Tantei-kun, no less.

He didn't have time to disguise himself, so he just grabbed his emergency suitcase that was created just for these times of situations and hurried to Haneda Airport to catch this emergency flight.

He was surprised to find Tantei-kun to be fluent in English, but he really should have not expected less from the mini-detective. What really surprised him was the fact that he overheard him tell the flight attendant that his mother on board, which was unlikely from what Kaito could see, so he snuck into the lavatory and disguised himself as a woman so he would be able to take him away under the guise of his mother just before he boarded the flight.

Lady Luck  _really_  did like to shine on him, since Kaito would appear to sitting directly behind who he was following. Well, protecting. Why would little Tantei-kun be going to London, unaccompanied? Unless there was a dire situation, but one could never be too careful. He was, after all, a six year old, even if he didn't act the part.

Then there was what happened this morning. He was surprised to be awoken by the sound of a crying child in the shower. He knocked on the door to make sure that everything was alright, but he knew when to take a hint. That's why the cab ride was a silent one.

And now there they were, in an Italian restaurant, in London, with the detective investigating where Dr. John Watson was previously sitting and Kid - he was Kid now, Kaito was sick in Japan - came to the conclusion that the reason that Edogawa Conan, or Conan Edogawa since they were in England, was here because of the disappearance of someone called Sherlock Holmes.

He wished he had a phone with international internet access so that he could check who Sherlock Holmes really was. He really wished that he had kept up with international news about topics besides the jewels that he would have to eventually steal, so he would have truly understood the situation.

Clearly this Sherlock Holmes was an important person, to both Dr. Watson and Tantei-kun.

Finally, Conan finished investigating the area and came back to the table, climbing up his chair.

"So, would you like to explain what that was?" Kid asked, practically already finished with his plate of pasta.

Conan just kicked his feet underneath the table but continued to play with his phone. "Hmmm?" He looked at the table. "Food!" He grabbed his own fork and twirled it into the pasta to capture as much noodles as possible.

"Oh, so you play the kid act when it's most convenient, huh?" said Kid, slumping on the table with a hand holding up his head.

Conan looked up from his strand of noodle. "Hmm?"

"We both know that you're not as oblivious as you want people to believe." He pointed back to where the doctor was sitting previously. "So, would you like to explain what exactly we are doing?"

"Well, right now we are sitting at an Italian restaurant and I'm eating my pasta," Conan answered before placing a forkful of said pasta in his mouth.

"Alright, fine. I see how it is. Well then, would you like to explain what happened this morning? I thought that the tears were dried up after last night." Kid asked, causing the boy to freeze up and drop his fork to the ground.

"… I'll explain when we go back to the hotel." Conan removed a black device from the inner cufflinks of his coat and flicked it to his company, who caught it in between his fingers. "After all, you know that we have twelve hours to kill until we have to come back. Call for the waiter, please, and then we can be on our way." He pushed his practically full plate aside.

"… Tantei-kun…" Kid gave him a meaningful look.

"'m not hungry," he mumbled. Kid stared him down until Conan's stomach betrayed him and rumbled.

"We both know that you haven't eaten in the past twenty hours. You're starving. Besides, the food's already there, just eat it." Kid pushed the plate back to the detective, who mumbled before pushing it away again.

"Do I have to feed you?" Kid took his own fork, wiped it with his napkin before he rose from his seat and bend next to Conan, who shook his head and tried to push his chaperone away. But the chaperone wouldn't relent. He grabbed the fork, twirled it in the pasta and stabbed a piece of chicken for good measure and brought it to the little detective's mouth.

"Say, 'Ahh' -" Conan grabbed the fork and placed it in his mouth himself, much to the satisfaction of the thief. However, what the thief wasn't expecting was the dark red coloring of Tantei-kun's cheeks. He didn't have the chance to respond the way he wanted to, because he  _didn't_ know how to respond to that.

Instead he said, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Kid smiled while Conan glared, still blushing. "As soon as your finish your whole plate, we can leave. But until then, I'm going to sit right here and like a good brother make sure that his baby brother eats." With those words, the blush began to fade, and… was that a hint of _disappointment_?

Without another moment to leave to his thoughts, Conan proceeded to shove the food in his mouth, but was refrained from doing so as Kid grabbed hold of his wrist. "No need to rush, as you said we have twelve hours to kill. An extra hour spent eating wouldn't be too bad. I can wait."

Tantei-kun pouted in a way that Kid can only call adorable as he slowed down his actions and began to truly appreciate the food that he was consuming.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo become a trio.

o-o-o-o-o-o

"For the last time, no. We are  _not_  going to the Tower of London." Kid pouted at Conan's expression, which was annoyance at the insistence of the thief.

"But come on, Tantei-kun. Please?" he begged for the fourteenth time that afternoon.

"No, and that is that." The child let out a sigh, but lighter than the one than the phantom thief was expecting. He knew that he was holding a heavy heart, and attempted to distract the detective from it.

It's what they've been doing since leaving the restaurant. Tantei-kun will tell him when he's ready.

"But I need to know the area if I want to steal the Carbuncle," Kid said, only to be ignored.

"I refuse to let you steal anything while I'm here. What kind of detective would I be if I let you get away with that?" Conan continued to study the map of the Tube as they maneuvered around the city through the famous transit system. "Besides, Nakamori-keibu would be upset if you were to suddenly appear in London. Not to mention Hakuba-nii-san."

Kid smirked. "Oh, don't want to share me, do you?"

Conan crumpled his pamphlet and wacked Kid with it. "Idiot! Don't put words in my mouth!"

Kid pulled on his cheeks. "Eh? What words do you want to say?" Conan flailed at the pulling of his face.

"Lemme go!" He managed to spit out. "Ah hahaha, t-that d-do-doesn't h-he-help!" He laughed as Kid released his face and tickled his stomach.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Kid smirked, happy that Tantei-kun was no longer depressed.

They got some strange looks from the random British people around them, making thessm stop their actions.

"... I think it's the fact that we're speaking Japanese," Kid whispered to Conan, who rolled his eyes in response.

"At least we're not covered in blood carrying a harpoon," Conan muttered to him quietly. Kid grew wide-eyed at the detective's statement.

"O… kay then," Kid replied, sitting back in his seat with Conan pocketing the map, and remained perfectly still while he let that statement sink in. He turned to the diminutive detective slowly, who was playing with his mobile. "Do I want to know?"

"Hmm?" Conan answered off-handedly as he continued to press buttons.

"Alrighty then." Kid whistled nervously as he watched Conan continue to play with the phone, mostly just playing around as in to not face the awkwardness between them.

"So what's going to happen now?" he asked, getting bored himself and willing to face the music.

"…. Well we did look at lots of the sights, now we just have to wait until 11:30." He looked at his watch. "It's almost six now.  _Besides_  looking at the Tower of London, where would you like to go?"

Kid looked through a pamphlet. "I'm good for anything, except an aquarium."

"Aquarium?" Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Aquarium." Kid froze, shaking his head furiously. "No. Never. Do you have any  _other_ ideas?"

"Well, I'm aching to look at some fish…"

"What did I just say!?" Kaito stood up, and the random bystanders started to stare at them again.

"Let's get out here." Conan stood up himself and walked out the doors, Kid in tow.

"You know, it's dangerous to go alone." Kid held out his hand. "Especially for a child. Take my hand."

Conan mumbled, "I know my way around here better than you," before taking the hand. He coughed. "Well come along then." He tugged the thief down a path, and they walked in silence for several minutes until they ended up in front of a building.

Kaito stared. "… Don't tell me."

Conan just shrugged. "We have a few more hours until the deadline, I can't think of anything else to do."

"But we don't -"

Conan shrugged. "It's alright, I got this." He dragged his chaperone along into the building of the Royal Opera House.

Kid grew wide-eyed at the sight of everyone in formal attire, men wearing suits and women dressed in elaborate dresses.

"B-but, I'm not properly  _dressed_  -"

The not-child rolled his eyes. "You're wearing a buttoned shirt and a tie. It's fine."

_ "You _ 're not - _"_

"Please, look at me. I'm about as fancy as one can be at this age. Come on."

The thief was helpless as Conan brought him to the usher, tugging at the man's pants who leant down to listen to him.

After a short exchange, the usher left them. Conan gave out a sigh.

"What -"

"Never mind, just follow him." They followed the man at a short distance.

"… So what are we watching, exactly?"

Conan observed the beautiful, countless women dashing behind the curtain and backstage. " _Don Giovanni?_ "

"Ooh, a classic!" Kid waved at the usher that brought them to the front hall, their seats beside the orchestra with an amazing view. Forget the questions as to  _how_ Tantei-kun was able to get them in, not dressed for the occasion, and front seats. He gave a look to Conan, who was seated with feet kicking in the air as he thought about what the general plot of the opera was. "Although, I'm a little iffy on it…" he commented as the curtain rose.

o-o-o-o-o-o

"I liked the part when the dude was dragged to hell."

Kid rolled his eyes. "Of course you do." He thought about it. "Hmm, since we're being honest," At least that was what he was assuming, "My favorite part was with Leporello singing about Giovanni's achievements." He snickered. "Imagine? 2163 women!"

Conan rolled his eyes. "No comment."

Kid pouted. "Better than when Giovanni was dragged to the Underworld." Conan stuck out his tongue while Kid vaguely questioned the child's sanity before looking at his watch. "Can we go inside yet?"

"No, give it another minute." The magician counted off the seconds in his head, only getting half-way before Conan grabbed his wrist. "Alright, half a minute. Let's go."

They stepped out of their cab and into the Italian restaurant for the second time that day, and took the same seat as before.

"Should I just order the same stuff too? Keep a pattern?" Kid asked sarcastically as Conan watched his watch.

"11:35. Get me the fish."

"Not. Funny." Kid was tempted to throw the menu at the child. "I'm going to get you the chicken."

Conan just waved him away. "Do what you will." Kid ordered the food, knowing that he was being tuned out. If it makes Tantei-kun feel better.

But there was only as much patience as he had, and threatening to summon fish was going too far.

"I expect to be told of everything," he said, "when Dr. Watson arrives."

"No doubt." Conan's eyes were glued on the cab that had just stopped across the street. "He's here," he breathed, eyes wide as the limping man exited the cab and began walking to their location.

They only had to wait momentarily as the door flipped open, causing the bell above it to ring. Both moved their eyes to the door to see the doctor limping over towards them, waving away a server as he took the same seat he took that morning.

Conan gave Kid a look before getting up from the table and moving to where the man sat, motioning for the thief to follow. Kid rolled his eyes but nonetheless followed the detective as he took a seat across from the Brit, causing for him to pull over a chair. The doctor looked up to face his companions, looking somewhat dead in the eyes, Kid noted.

"So," he started. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," the man curtly replied.

"You're lying," Conan stated, causing the two to stare at the child. "Meeting me disturbed you so much that you have been unable to concentrate on anything else. Your hands are still shaking, eyes darting around, leg shaking too…" Conan frowned.

"You're scared of me, aren't you?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about… Where did you get that assumption?" asked John watching this Japanese detective suspiciously, who was still frowning.

"… I'm not him," Conan confirmed, as reading the doctor's mind. "Trust me, I'm not. If I was him, I would not have approached you in such a way. He's not heartless." He looked into Watson's eyes and smiled softly. "But you know that more than anyone, don't you?"

That had stolen the doctor's full attention. "Who the hell  _are_  you?" he asked again, this time much more interested than this morning.

"Conan Edogawa, detective." He was about to introduce the phantom thief, when he faltered as John gave a dubious look. His smile turned into a frown and weakly, he pointed to Kid. "And, uh, th-this i-is…"

"Kaito Kuroba," Kaito frowned internally at the loss of confidence that Tantei-kun suddenly had but externally smirked at his admittance of identity without Hakuba to hear it. And that they were in England when he did it. Oh the irony. "Just a chaperone."

"Japanese?" John raised an eyebrow. "It was international? I didn't think he was  _that_ well known…"

Conan shook his head, confidence slowly returning to him. "D-Dr. Watson, I've been following Mr. Holmes for a long, long time. Before… before all the fame that you brought him. But I've been paying very close attention after the  _Study in Pink_." Conan looked at John in the eye, who gave him a curious look, one with piqued interest.

The shrunken detective's face turned all red before he exclaimed his dream to the doctor without any regards to the thief, shocking the both of them. "I want to be just like him!"

Kaito was taken back. "T-Tantei-kun?" Now all the nervousness as well as the false bravado made sense.

"N-not just me…" John breathed out a sign of belief. "It's not just me!"

Conan let out a shaky laugh. "I've… always wanted to meet you," he breathed, "But I didn't want to seem like a fan boy or anything." He flinched. "The crazies."

"You're the only one who actually sees him as a hero instead of just the recent fad," John comforted, sounding relieved. "Never met one like you before. It's refreshing." He smiled.

Conan blushed. "Th-thanks… That means a lot, coming from you."

"Wow, Tantei-kun. I never saw you as a fanboy."

"No!" Conan denied, greatly offended. "I'm not one of those idiots who are so wishy-washy." He looked up at John. "Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson are people who deserve the upmost respect." He lowered his head. "I apologize for all the disrespect that everyone has troubled you with."

John was shocked. "Uh, no, it's… fine." He pat him on the head awkwardly. Conan looked up and smiled, happy to be comforted by one of his role models.

"So," Kaito said as they were served food, "What's the plan?" All three of them picked up a fork and began to twirl it in the pasta dish.

"What?" John asked, about to eat.

"The plan. You know." He looked at Conan, who was still very shy. He rolled his eyes. "To find Sherlock Holmes?"

John froze, dropping the fork back on the plate.

"Kaito is right," said Conan, regaining his confidence as he took a tessellation of pasta into his mouth. He chewed for a few moments before swallowing. "Sherlock is alive. He couldn't be dead." He narrowed his eyes at a loose strand hanging from his fork. "I can't accept it."

"… I've been to the grave. I've seen the corpse. He's gone..." John answered hollowly, even more dead than before.

"Yes well, I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Wilder's alive too. Somewhere low-key to avoid getting caught," Conan commented off-handedly. "With Mr. Holmes' help, of course. She just didn't have the confidence to do it herself."

"Please don't speak about that woman." John placed his hand to his forehead as he arched into the table. "She makes my head hurt. Besides, Mycroft told me that she's dead."

"You forget, Mr. Holmes helped her escape. I'm pretty sure that he would have been able to trick his brother. And anyone else if he wanted to fake his death."

"I suppose… Hey, how did you know that?" John raised an eyebrow at the child, who jumped.

"E-eh, it's, uh, because..." Conan started to tremble.

"Hey, we started to stray from the main point," Kid interjected, needing to draw attention away from the mini-detective, who looked grateful at his efforts. "The question is, where could Mr. Holmes be?"

"Dunno about that. It's already been about two months," John replied, willing to move back to the main reason as to why they were there in the first place.

"Well, do you think that we could possibly visit your home and any places that you have been to with Mr. Holmes?" Kid asked, trying to help to the best of his ability.

"I s'ppose." John shrugged.

"Could it possibly wait until morning?" the thief asked, checking the time. It was a little past midnight and they were the only people left in the restaurant.

"B-but!" Conan slammed his hands on the table, "We're right in the middle of it!" He let out a yawn that didn't help his argument.

"Yes, it's rather late, isn't it?" John stood from his seat, leaving a few pounds to cover the bill.

"Ah, wait, let me - " Conan took out his wallet.

"Too late, I already did," John said, "Let's continue this at the park tomorrow. It's pretty late."

"But -" Conan started, but was interrupted when Kid grabbed his hand and the three left the restaurant.

"No buts, Conan-kun!" The chaperone winked. "It's pretty late, we should pick this up tomorrow. As your guardian, I concur."

Conan raised an eyebrow. "Concur?"

Kid nodded. "Concur."

"At the park, I'll let you know about in the morning. Noon," he said as he scribbled something down and handed it to Kaito, who glanced at the paper and quickly pocketed it. "It's been a while since I've actually been on a case," John mused as he left.

"And hopefully this one won't be your last, Dr. Watson," Conan quietly replied as he and Kid watched the doctor summon a cab and leave.

He was about to turn to Kid to question what was written to him when he couldn't help yawning again, but let out a yelp when Kid suddenly scooped him up from the ground. "Wah! Kid? What are you doing? I - "

Kid tapped his nose, smiling. "For the rest of this trip, you can call me Kaito. It's the main disguise I'll be using. As for what I'm doing, you must be exhausted. I know we've been avoiding the hotel so that you didn't have to explain to me what exactly we're doing here in London. Don't worry, I'm a patient guy. I can wait until later." He balanced so that the child leaned into his chest and shoulder as he raised his now free hand into the air to call for a cab.

"'Later' might last a while," Conan whispered, closing his eyes with a small frown.

Kaito looked away before frowning himself. "I'm not that patient," he replied faintly.

When he finally caught one, he wasn't surprised to find the detective in his arm sleeping. He told the cab where to go and gently placed the sleeping child in the cab carefully before getting in himself. With the cab on the way back to the hotel, he parted the bangs on Conan's face before smiling sadly.

Seeing the child so depressed to a point where he was hiding it hurt Kaito in a way he couldn't explain, like his  _heart_  ached with pain.

But why would that be?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that I have not seen Series Three (this fic was written as Series Two ended).

o-o-o-o-o-o

As soon as they arrived back in the hotel, Kaito very  _very_  carefully and gently undressed the deeply asleep Conan, pulling off his blazer and white long sleeve button shirt. Not knowing where Conan kept his clothes, he gave him one of his tee-shirts, which was  _way_ too big for him. Kaito had to hold back a chuckle at how adorable he looked in his way too big for him clothes. After taking off his shorts, he placed the removed clothes on a chair and gently tucked the sleeping child in bed before changing clothes himself.

He wanted to do some recon, but today took more energy than he thought. He yawned, positioning himself to face the windows and got into bed next to the one already in bed. His thoughts trailed over to his bedmate before quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.

Wouldn't be dreamless, more like random flashes that Kaito would forget as soon as he woke up.

One image that Kaito would remember, however, would be the haunting image of Tantei-kun crying in the darkness.

This time, this time he made sure that he would be the first one to wake up that morning, and blinked into awareness as the sunlight streamed from the open curtains and into his eyes.

Kaito took great care as to not wake the exhausted child on the bed, making sure that the light wouldn't stir him from his well-deserved slumber before checking the time.

It was 8:48. He would wake Conan at around 10:45.

Hopefully he would know what park they were supposed to be at and it wouldn't take so long to get there.

Wait…

He took out the piece of paper that Dr. Watson had handed him last night, and quickly texted him for the location, since they hadn't mentioned it last night.

He was surprised at how quickly he got the reply.

"Hyde Park," Kaito read aloud, reaching out for his suitcase to turn on his laptop to finally do the research that he should have done a while ago.

"Okay, should take about ten minutes." According to Google Maps anyway. So he'll wake Conan at 10:15.

Quickly, he searched for 'Sherlock Holmes'. Many results popped up and he quickly skimmed through some articles of the man. Apparently he was accused of creating the identity of James, or Jim, Moriarty.

Kaito recognized that name. He was the one who stole the British Crown Jewels and let himself get taken in. A heist in poor taste in his opinion.

He didn't follow the case as closely as he would have liked as of that moment, having just tossed it into the wind since it was obvious that the Crown Jewels wouldn't hold the Pandora Gem and was just pointless international news that didn't concern him.

It would seem, however, that James Moriarity was just an actor going by the name of Richard Brook, a man who was hired by Holmes to play the role of Moriarty in an effort for him to become well known as well as for fun. Holmes himself, in actually, was the consulting criminal this whole time, as Moriarty didn't exist.

The articles all had the same conclusion, that Holmes killed Brook for revealing his secrets before jumping off the roof of St. Bartholomew's Hospital to his death.

According to the snippets of information that Kaito had managed to gather from both Conan and Dr. John Watson, they didn't believe that Mr. Holmes created the identity of James Moriarity and was in fact still alive. Sherlock could also apparently plant a corpse to avoid suspicion of his undeath…ness, as by his resources. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired. Just keep on researching, he could only do it now while Conan was asleep.

Not much he could find about the man's childhood, but he did find one interesting note of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes' older brother who works in the British Government. Couldn't find much information about him either.

These Holmes brothers were interesting, that was for sure. Clearly they had government connections, obviously seen by the very scarce information found on Mycroft Holmes.

Kaito managed to find the blog that Conan had mentioned during their - or Conan's really - first confrontation with Dr. Watson, reading through a few entries and finding them to be quite amusing before moving to Mr Holmes' blog itself.

Kaito was amazed at how this man worked; his skill reminded him of a certain detective still sound asleep in bed. A glance at the clock would tell him that it was a little after ten.

Believing that that was all the information he would actually find, he shut off his laptop and picked himself off from the desk, going to check on the sleeping child. He was surprised to find tears streaming down his cheeks. Was he crying in his sleep?

He twirled his fingers in his chestnut hair, making the boy stir a little but still continue to sleep. He heard him let out a pained whimper before shivering, making Kaito shake him awake.

"Tantei-kun? Tantei-kun!"

Conan blinked awake. "Huh, what?" He jolted. "Oh gosh, I overslept!" He struggled to get out of Kaito's surprisingly tight grip." Are we late with the meeting with Dr. Watson? Why didn't you wake me?" He looked down and blushed. "D-don't tell me you changed my clothes!"

Kaito shook his head. "Don't worry, it's a little after nine and the park is only ten minutes away. But you were crying in your sleep, is everything alright?"

Conan blinked, reaching out to feel water on his face. "O-oh…"

Kaito asked again, "Are you alright?"

He was surprised when the one in his arms just fell back asleep. Was he that exhausted? Kaito couldn't help but pout. "Really, Tantei-kun? Really?" He mused that he was glad that he fell back asleep, but now he would have to wait to ask him why he was crying.

Kaito sighed. He said he was patient; he could wait another hour or so.

o-o-o-o-o-o

He was running, running through what seemed to be an endless abyss with water on the ground that was splashing everywhere thanks to his running.

Whispers of various voices called to him.

_How could you do this?_

He covered his ears. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it."

_But you don't need me to tell you that, because regardless of what I want, it doesn't matter, does it?_

He felt someone touch his shoulder, and flinched.

"Tantei-kun?"

"Don't say it!"

Kaito quickly released the half-asleep child as Conan blinked awake. He was shaking.

The magician wanted to ask him what was wrong, but…

Instead, Kaito held a clock to his eyelevel, reading it to be 10:51. "We better get going if we don't want to be late. We'll stop for something to eat on the way to the park."

"Okay," Conan whispered, moving to get out of bed. He was about to go to the bathroom when Kaito gently took hold of his wrist. The child released himself from the teen's hold harshly, much to his surprise.

"Not yet, not yet," he murmured softly, making his way to the drawers to grab a collared shirt with jeans and swiftly made his way to the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower.

Kaito watched silently as he put away his things, getting ready to go to the park as well.

Guess he would have to wait longer.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Kaito gently squeezed the child's hand in an attempt to comfort him as they walked along the streets of London towards Hyde Park, Conan munching on a muffin that they picked up at a bakery on the way. He took a glance at his watch before quickening his pace. "I don't want to keep him waiting," he told his chaperone as he tugged him along.

"A-alright, Tantei-kun, sheesh." Kaito felt like his arm was going to be removed. Kid was pretty strong.

"When we see him, no more speaking in Japanese, okay?" Conan instructed, with Kaito nodding.

"Makes sense. He doesn't understand Japanese, doesn't he?" Kaito replied, still sticking to their native tongue.

Conan shook his head. "No. And there he is. Come on." He pulled the two of them to the park bench where the doctor was waiting.

Conan smiled shyly as John got up to shake Kaito's hand after a nod of acknowledgement to the diminutive detective. "You don't have your limp anymore," Conan commented off-handedly. Kaito noticed, now that it was pointed out, that the cane wasn't with the doctor.

John nodded. "Woke up this morning without it." He frowned. "What were you guys doing this morning?"

"Sleeping?" Kaito answered, thoughts trailing back to his research.

"Why?" Conan asked, not wanting to remember vague dreams.

John took out his phone, reading it before he looked up to them again. "Let's just say that you've been prying, haven't you?"

Conan turned to Kaito. "Kaito?"

The teen in question shrugged. "So I wanted some research. What's wrong with that?"

John sighed. "I haven't had Mycroft breathing down my throat for about a month now. Now he warns me about someone snooping? Wasn't a great way to start my day, lemme tell you that."

Conan chuckled before shyly shuffling his feet on a dead leaf on the ground. "To get to the main point, I already tried to start, to meet up with Ms. Hooper."

At this, John was surprised. "You met up Molly?"

Kaito shook his head. "We tried, she wasn't in."

"Really?" John frowned. "I haven't seen her since..."

Conan took out a notebook from his backpack. He opened it and skimmed through the pages. "I'm pretty sure that she's involved in all this," he murmured to himself as he put the book away to take out another, frowning when he found that one filled at well.

John raised an eyebrow. "Whatcha got there?"

Kaito was impressed. "You took notes on this, Tantei-kun?" he whispered.

"Shh, no Japanese," Conan scolded quietly as he flipped through the book, that was in indeed in Romaji. "Besides, it would be bad if people saw that I was writing in English."

Kaito thought about it. Supposedly English is more suspicious than Romanji. And of course the chibi detective could write in English if he was fluent in speaking the language.

Who was this kid exactly? Were the Kudous just  _that_  brilliant?

Considering the actress, the author, and the high school detective, yeah, they were just  _that_ brilliant. Was Conan following the footsteps of his… relative Shinichi? Come to think of it, where  _was_  the high school detective lately?

"True, true, but that just shows how brilliant you are," he finally replied, tucking the thought away for another time.

"Stop with the Japanese," Conan continued to scold before turning back to John. Cleaning to a new page and clicking his pen, he took a seat next the doctor him on the bench.

"Before we do anything else, I think we need to know your side of the story, Dr. Watson." Conan scooted closer to the man as Kaito moved to sit next to him. "There are many sides of it, but yours is one of the most important."

"I…" The doctor turned away. "I don't think I'm ready. Not yet."

Kaito caught Conan flinch, before looking at John. "Please, Dr. Watson. In order to find Mr. Holmes, we need your side of the story."

"Al-Alright."

The teen watched Conan take notes in English as John began to recite his tale, his voice getting stronger as the tale went along.

As John told his story, Kaito frowned as he realized how deep this really went.

After he had finished, both men were surprised when the one taking notes started to shed tears.

"I… I'm sorry," Conan sniffled. "It's just… I didn't know that it was that bad..." He wiped his tears. "Sorry..." He coughed before composing himself.

"Where would you suggest we should go?" Kaito asked their detective, John curious as to what he would think.

"I… I think we need to go to Baker Street," Conan said, shutting the book and placing it back in his bag. "He would have left clues, I would believe." He turned to John. "Can… can we go?"

"I…" The doctor faltered before shrugging. "I s'ppose so, yeah."

Conan perked up and quickly led the way out of the park, leaving Kaito and John to follow.

"A quick question, if you would, Dr. Watson?" Kaito started, needing to know.

"What is it?" John asked, turning to the teen.

"Why are you doing this? Going along with a Japanese teen and child in the search for your partner?"

John gave a dry laugh before answering, "Cases aren't really my thing. I guess I'm desperate enough to fall upon you two to help me out."

o-o-o-o-o-o

Awkward wasn't a strong enough word to describe the cab ride to the flat that John shared with the child detective and chaperone, with Conan acting all shy again and Kaito was suffocating from the silence. He needed to start a conversation.

"Don't suppose you think that his brother in involved in this?" he asked, making John and Conan turn towards him.

"What do you mean?" Conan asked, wanting to make sure he understood what was being asked.

Kaito frowned. "I mean with the fact that his brother works in the government, it would be child's play for him to plant a body there in place of Mr. Holmes. Wouldn't then he know where he was?"

"I think Mycroft believes that he too is dead with the rest of the world," John replied, looking out the window.

"Save you two, that is. And I suppose me as well." Kaito nodded, but thought of another question. Anything to stop the awkward silence. "What would you want to do in the apartment anyway, Tantei-kun?" He couldn't call him 'Conan', it was too weird.

The child rolled his eyes at the pet name. "Investigate, of course," Conan replied, both boys turning to see John staring at them.

Before another word could be said, the cab stopped in front of the flat. Kaito smiled. His plan had worked. The three stepped out of the vehicle and John led them to the front door, taking out his key to let them inside.

Both turned when Conan let out a gasp. Regardless of the seriousness of the situation and the company, he couldn't help his fanboy-ness, no matter how hard he tried to quell it in his hero's presence. Kaito laughed as Conan blushed when John suddenly turned to the Japanese boys.

The blond's eyes moved to the street, and they turned to see what he was looking at. On the street was a sleek black car that stopped in front of the building, and John let out a sigh as a woman stepped out of the vehicle.

"Dr. Watson," she said, and he looked at his company before letting out a groan and tossed the keys to Kaito.

"Don't abuse it. The first door on the second floor all the way down," were the man's final words as he left with the woman. A silence fell between the thief and detective as they watched the car drive away, before Conan raised his hand for the keys, resorting to jumping for them.

"Tantei-kun, patience," Kaito tsked, switching to Japanese since it was just the two of them. He didn't hand him the keys, but rather unlocked the door and the two walked inside.

"Shhhh," Conan whispered, moving towards the stairs. Kaito nodded and began to lead the way, but turned when the diminutive detective let out a small squeal, grinning and jumping before Kaito took hold of him and couldn't help but let out a laugh at the reaction. Conan blushed as he calmed down. "I can't believe I'm really here," he breathed, eyes wide as they went to the second floor.

"Living the dream, eh, Tantei-kun?" Kaito joked and Conan smacked him on the arm.

"Shut up!" He pointed to the door. "Here!"

Kaito unlocked and opened the door before Conan quickly rushed inside, taking out a camera. He didn't waste a second as he began taking pictures of everything. The child scrambled around, making sure to get photographic evidence of everything contained in the living space. Kaito let out a chuckle at the sight. This was just too amusing.

"Kid, help me with this," Conan commanded as he pointed to the crowded shelves that Kaito believed to be dangerous but respected the detective's wishes as he reached out for him.

"Kaito," he corrected as he lifted the child by the arms to see and take pictures of the high spot that his size eluded him to.

Conan took a few pictures before Kaito felt a camera hit his face. "Oooh," Conan commented, pulling out a wire and Kaito caught his wide grin. "Interesting."

He jumped out of the teen's arms haphazardly, and Kaito let out an "Oi!", but Conan paid it no mind as he moved to the computer on the table. Quickly, he turned it on, waited for it to boot up as he checked out the table of its contents.

Even though they weren't, supposedly, allowed to touch anything, Kaito didn't say anything as he watched Conan work on the desk. However, curious as he was… "Wanna fill me in, Tantei-kun?" Kaito asked, watching the boy compare book pages of various novels.

"An important piece of evidence," Conan said, holding up a flash drive that was hidden from view by a book. "This... this is very important."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Where did that come from?"

Conan shrugged. "Found it next to the head."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Head?"

"Check the fridge," was his answer as Conan attempted to hack the computer. "If you dare," he added ominously.

"I'll dare," Kaito replied as he moved to the kitchen, eyeing the table that seemed to be a mini-chemistry lab. Various tubes with various mysterious liquids inside didn't deter the magician as he made his way to the fridge. He opened it and immediately closed it right after. He stood there for a few minutes, breathing and blinking slowly as Conan typed away on the hacked laptop.

"...Tantei-kun?" He finally said, but not interrupting the sound of typing keys as Conan continued to work.

"Yes?"

"…" There was no other way to put it. "There's a severed head in the fridge."

Conan snickered as he continued to work on the keyboard. "Yeah..."

Kaito backed out of the kitchen slowly as he could, making his way back to the hacker. "… And you're not freaking out about it?" There was a dead guy's head in the fridge. Clearly there was a murder case!

"Experiment, was mentioned on his blog," Conan told him calmly, plugging in the flash drive into the computer.

Kaito blinked. This Sherlock Holmes guy was clearly a unique character if the figure in front of him wasn't looking for a killer.

A string of numbers consisting of zeros and ones flashed through the computer screen. "Code?" Kaito asked as Conan began to type once again, working on the laptop and flash drive in an attempt to hack it for its secrets. The magician watched quietly as Conan pressed a few buttons and an audio file started to play. Before he could hear anything, however, Conan plugged in blue over-ear headphones that Kaito believed he must have magicked because he had no idea how he got them.

As Kaito was forced to watch the detective listen to the recording, he watched as the child's eyes grew wide and began to water as he smiled.

"G… Got it!" Conan exclaimed happily as a door slammed shut downstairs. John has returned. Kaito scrambled to return everything that they had messed up, but it wasn't much. Conan was already with the laptop, not having moved it except to his lap.

"Back - Oi, what is this?" He made his way to Conan and reached out to snatch the computer from his lap before he noticed the headphones. Conan paused the video, unplugged the private speaker before handing him the laptop. "What do you think you're doing?" John looked over to Kaito. "I thought I told you not to abuse it!"

Kaito held up his hands in defense. "Wasn't me, I swear! I'm just a chaperone!"

"F-finding the proof that was here this whole time, Dr. Watson!" Conan exclaimed, wiping his eyes before handing him the headphones. "L-listen."

Kaito felt left out as John put in Conan's magical headphones, listening carefully to the recording that was embedded in the coding.

When John let out a small smile, the only one had he had seen on the man since meeting him just the other day, the magician widened his eyes. A single tear escaped the man's eye as he listened to the recording, murmuring something incoherent that Kaito couldn't understand but found Conan nodding in agreement. The doctor took off the headphones, handing it back to the diminutive detective.

"Thank you, Conan, was it?" John breathed, with Conan shaking his head furiously.

"Don't thank me, thank Mr. Holmes for thinking of this ahead of time."

"Someone better fill me in right this second, or else there's going to be much trouble of the confusion variety!" Kaito yelled, frustrated on not knowing what in the hell was going on.

Conan smiled happily, tears streaming down his face as John went downstairs. "S-sorry, Kuroba-kun." Switching to Japanese, he held out the headphones for his 'chaperone' to take. "Listen."

Kaito nodded, happy at finally getting some recognition. "Tell me where you got these later too," he requested, needing to know for curiosity's sake before taking the headphones and placed it over one of his ear, watching as Conan shrugged and tapped the space bar before the all-important recording began to play.

Kaito blinked at what was heard. "Is that  _The Bee Gees_?"

Conan rolled his eyes. "Listen so that it'll make sense!"

Kaito widened his eyes in defense. "Woah, okay, geez." He covered both his ears with the headphones before a voice began to speak into Kaito's ears with the music still playing.

" _Wuh. Here we are at last – you and me, Sherlock, and our problem – the final problem."_ Kaito realized this voice to belonging to the Richard Brook, or James Moriarty. He was no longer sure on identities anymore.

Richard or James continued, " _Stayin' alive! It's so boring, isn't it?"_

The song immediately stopped.

" _It's just ... staying."_

The sound of footsteps and a gush of air allows for Kaito to deduce that they must be on top of a building, having been on many of those himself. Probably the one of the hospital, where Sherlock Holmes fell to his death.

" _All my life I've been searching for distractions. You were the best distraction and now I don't even have you. Because I've beaten you._

_And you know what? In the end it was easy."_

" _It was easy."_ Richard or James sounded disappointed. _"Now I've got to go back to playing with the ordinary people. And it turns out you're ordinary just like all of them._

" _Ah well."_

The paces slow before stopping to be replaced with another's, presuming to be from the actor - or was it criminal mastermind? - as his voice got louder.

" _Did you almost start to wonder if I was real? Did I nearly get you?"_

A new voice replied. " _Richard Brook."_

 _This must be the one and only Sherlock Holmes,_  Kaito mused, before going back to attention to the audio.

" _Nobody seems to get the joke, but you do."_  James or Richard sounded bored.

" _Of course."_

"' _Attaboy."_

Sherlock began to explain, much to Kaito's relief as he was confused. _"Rich Brook in German is Reichen Bach – the case that made my name."_

Kaito blinked. The painting?

" _Just tryin' to have some fun."_

Obviously, this man was not an actor by the name of Richard Brook, as it was just explained. Kaito widened his eyes as the realization dawned on him.

Sherlock… Sherlock  _wasn't_  a fraud.

Very, very faint tapping could be barely heard. " _Good. You got that too."_ Jim sounded slightly impressed.

" _Beats like digits,"_ Sherlock said, _"Every beat is a one; every rest is a zero. Binary code. That's why all those assassins tried to save my life. It was hidden on me; hidden inside my head – a few simple lines of computer code that can break into any system."_

" _I told all my clients: Last one to Sherlock is a sissy."_

" _Yes, but now that it's up here, I can use it to alter all the records. I can kill Rich Brook and bring back Jim Moriarty."_  Sherlock sounded accomplished.

A short silence was broken by Jim. _"No, no, no, no, no, this is too easy. This is too easy."_ Jim suddenly became louder.

" _There is no key, DOOFUS!"_

Kaito winced, that was loud.

" _Those digits are meaningless. They're utterly meaningless. You don't really think a couple of lines of computer code are gonna crash the world around our ears? I'm disappointed."_ The voice dims slightly as the tone was changed to sound moronic. " _I'm disappointed in you, ordinary Sherlock."_

" _But the rhythm ..."_

"' _Partita number one.' Thank you, Johann Sebastian Bach."_

" _But then how did - "_

Jim cut him off. _"Then how did I break into the Bank, to the Tower, to the Prison? Daylight robbery. All it takes is some willing participants._

" _I knew you'd fall for it. That's your weakness – you always want everything to be clever. Now, shall we finish the game? One final act. Glad you chose a tall building – nice way to do it."_

" _Do it? Do – do what?"_ Sherlock sounded bewildered. A sound of a turn of heels. " _Yes, of course. My suicide."_

"' _Genius detective proved to be a fraud.' I read it in the paper, so it must be true. I love newspapers. Fairytales."_ The sound of footsteps and wind could be heard. _"And pretty Grimm ones too."_

Sherlock didn't want to give up just yet.  _"I can still prove that you created an entirely false identity."_

Jim sounded wearily exasperated.  _"Oh, just kill yourself. It's a lot less effort."_

Sounds of pacing were interrupted by Jim.  _"Go on. For me."_ He squealed in a high-pitched voice, " _Pleeeeeease?"_

Sounds of a struggle and heavy breathing.  _"You're insane."_

" _You're just getting that now?"_

"I'll end it there," Conan's voice broke into the audio as it was paused. Kaito slowly removed the headphones and handed it to the diminutive detective, albeit dazed.

"There was more," Conan whispered, "But I believe that it'll hurt Dr. Watson if he were to listen to the rest. To save time, you don't have to listen to it as well."

"More…?" Kaito breathed, to which Conan nodded softly in reply.

"You two, let's get going." Both of them turned to see John motioning for them to get out of the flat, narrowing his eyes when they didn't do so. "Well then? Come on!"

Kaito quickly moved, grabbing the child's hand as he dragged him out, much to the child's protest. "W-wait! I don't wanna leave just yet! Who knows when I can come back? I'm…" He looked away.

"I'm scared."

The magician gave him an odd look, with Conan shivering but was called to attention as John went down the stairs, and Kaito followed, continuing to drag Conan outside and into a taxi.

"We can come back later, Conan," John told him. "But if what you say is true… I would like to get to the cemetery before it closes."

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to find Sherlock John, Conan, and Kaito go~!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kaito internally groaned. That notorious awkward silence was back once again with a vengeance. John was in no mood to talk, Conan was nervous, so the magician seriously wanted to stab himself with a spork - anything to stop the awkwardness.

He supposed it wasn't that bad, it could have been worse. At least the taxi driver wasn't saying anything. But…it was just so  _awkward_. The tension in the cab was so high. There wasn't any music playing from the radio. Music was what made the rides not uncomfortable, more pleasant. The mood it would have been right now if there was music. But Kaito wasn't about to ask to turn up the radio, it was just…

He supposed he could try this again. "So…" he started, and continued when he had both of his companions' attention, "What do you plan to do when we meet him?"

John tilted his head, thinking. He looked up and out to the window to watch the scenery blaze by. "Oh, I'm going to do something," he said ominously. "And what are you going to do?"

"I, uh," Kaito faltered. "I'll, um..." What did they really expect for him to do? He had little to no information about the consulting detective - all he knew that was that he was Conan's hero, was framed for a crime that he did not do, and was the ambiguous partner to the doctor.

The teen shrugged, turning to Conan, who kept his gaze to his folded hands on his lap. He was twiddling his thumbs as he continued to listen to that audio that was deep within John's laptop, at least that was what Kaito assumed. "I suppose when we get there, I'll figure it out, huh?" The teen placed his hand and pat Conan's back, causing for the diminutive detective to jump as the blue headphones that Conan just so happened to keep in hand slipped off of his ear and down his neck. The child moved his fingers to pause the audio before any sound could be heard, but Kaito was surprised from what little his ears caught, which was an orchestra piece. The teen didn't hear enough to be able to identify it, however.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah." Conan let out a nervous laugh as he pulled the other side of the headphones down his neck, bringing his nervous attention to his other two companions.

Kaito elbowed him, lips quirking into a knowing smirk that Conan always found to hate and be quite cocky of the phantom thief. "You're going to ask him for an autograph, aren't you?" the thief assumed, John actually turning to watch Conan's reaction.

The chibi detective turned a deep shade of red. "N-no I'm not!" He cleared his throat to compose himself, lest he embarrass himself ever more so in front of the doctor. "How stereotypical of you to think that, Kaito."

John laughed. "I'm sure that for you he would make an exception."

The way he said it was so heartfelt, was really confident, as if he had no doubt in his mind on the matter, Kaito thought, and he wondered about the true relationship between the doctor and detective, whom before the whole media fiasco was already a difficult person do deal with from what he could tell.

"Anyway," Kaito said when he noticed that the awkwardness that came with silence was coming back. "Do you mind telling us about who that woman was and what she wanted with you?"

John shrugged. "Just Anthea; nothing really important to say."

"Nothing important or unwilling to give in to prying teenagers?" Conan suddenly asked, narrowing his eyes at Kaito, who averted his gaze and began to whistle. "Don't' be nosy," he lectured just as the cab pulled into a cemetery whom the Japanese boys missed the name of.

"This is it," the child said, pushing up his glasses to the bridge of his nose. He turned his eyes to the two men beside him, hugging his bag tightly. "Are you ready?"

Kaito nodded, about to place his hand on the door handle, when Conan gently took his arm. "I think Dr. Watson should go first and we follow after," he whispered softly, and Kaito nodded once more before retracting his hand back. Both boys looked at the doctor who already opened the door. He just had to push it to get out.

When he didn't do so immediately, Conan and Kaito tilted their heads. "You know, I didn't realize," John said, shaking slightly. "How much my nerves would affect this moment."

"Are you scared?"

It came out as a simple inquiry, but it held a bit more than that. Conan raised his head to hold eye contact with the doctor, and the two were locked in a soundless dagger fight of gazes.

There was that awkward silence once again, but this time Kaito knew that it was one he couldn't break. He faintly wondered why the cab driver didn't mind all this chit-chat, perhaps mindless in the man's mind, when he realized that the man was probably their ride back to Baker Street.

He also wondered if he was eavesdropping, because he himself knows that one cannot help but eavesdrop when there is a conversation in an otherwise dead air space.

But…was he eavesdropping the whole time?

And also, a real question that he really hoped John thought out when he called for the cab: Could this man be trusted when they bring Sherlock back with them?

Of course he could.

Right?

"I'm not scared," John finally replied, causing for Kaito to blink back into focus, and just caught Conan looking away in that split-second and he knew who won the fight. "If anything,  _he_ should be scared." He pushed the door into the open air and stepped out, crinkling the slightly dew-sprinkled grass.

Kaito looked back to Conan, and caught the slight smirk on his face that told that he was happy with the loss he was dealt. "I would have never thought you would be happy with a loss," he commented, making the child look up to him. He didn't forget he was here, did he? He was the one who made the conversation to and fro!

The chibi detective did the last thing that the teen would expect. He snorted, borderline laughter before he turned to the teen.

"Losing makes us humble," he simply replied before getting up in his seat, marking the leather with his favorite, evil red sneakers as he peered out the window. "Let's give him another minute, and then we can go."

Kaito nodded, and watched the doctor outside make his last regrets as he stepped over to the grave, where who knows what was buried underneath. Probably Ms. Hooper, she was the first person that Conan turned to after all. She was a doctor, one who worked in the morgue and helped Mr Holmes with his cases, Kaito could tell. Perhaps the body underneath the dirt came from her then?

He didn't want to think if the corpse underneath was involved in any missing person's case or whatnot. Besides, if this man was Tantei-kun's hero, Kaito didn't doubt his skills in planting his death. He was even able to trick John and his brother with this trick, guessing about the latter. That's what John said, anyway. Then again, he didn't really know the relationship between the Holmes brothers, so he really couldn't say anything.

God was he out of his element.

"Ready?"

As ready as the thief would ever be. He nodded as the child placed his headphones and iPod in his bag before placing the dark green straps on his shoulders, also ready to go. Kaito placed his fingers on the door handle, itching to get out after being cramped in the small car for about forty-five minutes.

"Wait." The detective looked back one last time, watching John for a few moments before Conan held out three fingers: his ring, middle, and index, counting down for when Kaito was to open the door.

"Three." Middle and index fingers.

"Two." Index finger.

"One." A closed fist.

Kaito pushed the door open and stepped out, Conan following shortly after. The teen placed his hand on the top rim of the car door and looked out towards the grave as the child's shoes touched the grass, a soft breeze passing by and causing for their hair to wave a little, Kaito more so since he was taller than the car door.

Hands firmly on his backpack straps, Conan led the way to the short walk to the doctor and the marble stone that said fake words, words that do not apply because the person that it were to apply to was still breathing on this earth. And if Conan was to be correct, he was in this cemetery right here, right now.

"Wait." Conan held his hand out, making Kaito almost trip up. "Wait here." He looked around, looking towards the trees, before bringing his attention to John by the tombstone.

"Stop it. Stop this." This man, this grown man, was breathing heavily, sniffling and ready to break down in tears from this - from what he knew now was to be a charade. He nodded, turned, ready to walk away and took his steps towards the two who brought this case to light to him.

Kaito bowed his head out of respect, averting his gaze to give the man the privacy he deserved because no one wants to be seen when they are at their weakest state. He magicked into existence a bouquet that consisted of lilies of the valley, and handed it to the man. While he knew that longiflorum lilies were flowers that were usually given at funerals, lilies of the valley were a flower that meant 'the return of happiness'. As softly as he believed Conan could hear, he whispered, "Should we stay or…"

John took a shaky breath to compose himself, and Kaito realized that the person he was talking to was no longer next to him. The child detective in question was in fact wandering, walking to a nearby shaded area, by the shadows, and where - if looking at the right angle - someone could be seen.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sherlock didn't know why he came back, why he needed to watch John pay respects to his grave; but he found himself there, hidden in the shadows, watching his favourite companion paying - hopefully - his final respects to his grave. The grave that was just a lie, but a necessary lie to save the lives of the three people who mattered most to him.

"Is it okay with you, to just leave him like that?"

Sherlock turned, and found the child that was in the same cab as John slowly making his approach to him. The child took great care to avoid the various jagged stones lying about with each of his footsteps making a soft crunch in the ground as he stepped on dead leaves, getting closer and closer but not meeting his gaze, opting to keep his gaze down to watch his footing.

"I beg your pardon?" But not sincerely.

"I don't mean to disrespect the way you work; after all, I try my best to follow your example," the child said, and Sherlock had to admit he was slightly interested in what he had to say. Slightly, but not really.

"My example?" Sherlock arched a brow at the child.

The boy looked flustered. Dull. "Y-yeah," he stuttered, and Sherlock missed the closed eyes and shaking of head he did to regain his focus. He cleared his throat, but again Sherlock couldn't be bothered, opting to keep his gaze on the flowers that someone had left on his grave. They consisted of two cape jasmines - which in the language of the flowers mean 'I am too happy'. It was suspicious, very suspicious, because they weren't there a few short minutes ago.

The child tried to continue, but still lacked the courage. "I, uh - "

He doesn't have time for this. "Look, kid, isn't your mummy looking for you? I don't have time to talk to an insignificant child," he told the insignificant child bluntly, not caring if he offended the nosy kid. Nosy children should be put in their place. Horrible excuse for parents to not take care of them. This is why he hates children.

It was quiet, and Sherlock thought that he was finally alone - well, in his general vicinity, John and that teenager that also rode with him were still talking. "I'm not a child," the child mumbled, and Sherlock really couldn't care for a tantrum right now.

"And I'm not one of those mainstream people who was only interested in you after your recovery of the Reichenbach Falls painting, or after saving the kidnapped banker and reuniting him with his family, or even for catching the wanted criminal since 1982 which trademarked you with the deerstalker hat, " the child continued to say, but once again it didn't reach the attention of the man who continued to study those flowers. When were they placed there?

"Fascinating," he merely said, but his tone clearly indicated his disinterest in the child's attempt of a conversation.

The slight scent of copper made Sherlock assume that the child had bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood. "You don't even care that I know your identity?" the child grinded out through his teeth; and although the anger and disappointment could be heard in it, it didn't pull any heartstrings on the consulting detective's part, too fixated on those mysterious flowers. Who placed them there? What was it about their meaning?

Here he was dealing with this little brat and - did he get closer to him during that interval of silence or what?

"Well?" Nosy child was mad.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the world doesn't revolve around what you think, including your opinions on strangers you find in cemeteries." He couldn't be bothered with the tears, so it would be best to get rid of him now. Or better yet, just leave and continue with his mundane task to completely end Moriarity's network. It's only been three months! He would need more time for this operation – at most a year but three months was not enough. But he couldn't move from his position just yet, not when John was watching this area - even if preoccupied with the teen that was most likely this child's older brother.

"Look, I am much too busy to be bothered with a child. So if you will  _kindly_  leave me now…"

Sherlock was sure that the child was going to touch him – or grab him or something - so was slightly surprised when the child retracted just before doing so, closing his eyes and shaking as if his touch could cause for others to turn to stone. "Angelo," he merely said, and waited patiently for his reply.

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. Angelo? Which Angelo could he be talking about?

"Vargas."

Sherlock blinked, slowly making his turn to the child. "Angelo Vargas?" Fine, he could humor the boy and listen to what he had to say.

"Angelo Vargas," the child confirmed, voice becoming less shaky and he stood his ground.

Boring. "And what about Angelo Vargas?" Sherlock drawled, regretting his tactic to get rid of the pest that refused to leave.

"A few years ago, you helped him out of a really tight spot when he was accused of a murder." He paused, smirking a little at his fumble. "I'm sorry, two murders."

Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that tidbit of information. "Not as sorry as the deceased." He turned fully at this point, giving the child an overlook.

He was dressed in a familiar dark pea coat, somewhat similar to his own but wasn't the exact brand – in fact his was more expensive, made of wool. The vicuñas, maybe? Looks like it, he wouldn't mind grazing his fingers to make sure – so clearly he came from money. Peeking out where the blue scarf would be to complete the Sherlock look - because that would have been god-awful if he had that - was a twinge of red instead - a bow tie perhaps? So he must have been wearing a collared, buttoned, most likely white, shirt underneath the blue blazer. He looked neat, well-kept, clothes a little crumpled from staying in the car for forty-seven minutes if they came from the flat, shoes slightly muddy from the dirt.

The child must have been well-bred. Shame he wasn't older, perhaps he would have been more bearable to be in the same breathing area with. Not much could be really said about his outfit, because again Sherlock didn't really care to know. He was just a child, and no one would take him seriously. He moved his eyes up to study the face.

Brunet, bangs and two odd cowlicks towards the back of his head. Eyes blue - royal blue - almost held a clear, piercing gaze that looked more focused than Sherlock would have expected hidden underneath the large rims of glasses. Traces of tears on the edges, but he was a snot-nosed brat so crying was one of his only talents. Short - very short - about 96 centimeters - 96.52. Must have been about six or seven years old, leaning towards six and a half appearance-wise. He certainly proved so with that little mini-tantrum that he had from lack of given attention.

However, the few last words concerning the restaurateur who owned the restaurant that he had first taken John to – he was cockier, confident; the words spoken with a maturity that would have been at least of a seventeen year old.

How did this child even know about that case? Those files were buried deep, deep in the archives of  _The Science of Deduction_  that compared poorly hit-wise to John's silly blog that may have added fuel to the flame that is the idiotic media but he's allowed his own fun. It must have been before he was even able to walk.

"It's not really important," the child continued to say. "But he is the owner of an important restaurant, the first place that you took John to. And he's been going there almost as if following a ritual ever since."

"John?" Sherlock said sharply, glaring at the boy. "What do you know about John Watson?"

And then, those words he never wanted to hear, especially from a child;

"…I…I don't think you realize how much you've hurt him."

The tone the child used was very soft, gentle even, but the words held the same impact as hitting the concrete sidewalk from the roof of a hospital.

It wasn't something that Sherlock had expected from a person of that stature.

"Conan, Conan!"

The child winced; Sherlock blinked before looking up to see the child's older brother had finished speaking with John about who knows what and was yelling for the little brat to finally run off by calling his name. Conan. Sounds professional, old-fashioned, a high-class name. It was faintly familiar, and Sherlock remembered seeing it on that old piece of framed parchment that his father kept framed in his study had the names in the Holmes family tree - Sir Arthur Conan being six generations back. How he hated that old, rotting scrap of paper.

The brother was saying something in a foreign tongue - something Asian. Japanese? While he knew quite a multitude of languages he had to begrudgingly admit that he had a more open approach to the Western languages than the Eastern. And while he did know some scraps of the language - although not as much as he would have liked - they were speaking much too fast for him to keep up. There were few words he recognized between them regardless.

Now that the child was speaking back he could faintly trace the smidges of Japanese accent in his English previously.

It fit their outward appearance - save their differing eyes, which Sherlock could spot in the shadows. Purple looked bright on the teen, but not as sharp as the child's blue in front of him and currently hiding him from John's view, who was looking towards the child's direction.

Sherlock moved deeper into the shadows, taking great caution not to be spotted when the brat finally left him alone, when he realized that he didn't provide a comeback to what the child believed.

Sherlock glared at the boy's head and spat disdainfully, "You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a child."

The child did turn back then, making them lock eyes for a few moments. Conan bit his lip, and Sherlock could see in his eyes he was conflicted to say what he wanted to say. It would seem that he decided to just go ahead and say it as he mouthed something, Sherlock not breaking the line of contact as he read the small lips.

_'You don't have to be a child to understand when you need other people.'_

Conan quickly unlocked the thin sliver of locked gazes by turning and making a mad dash to his brother, falling into a hug and the teen even cradling the child up to carry him in his arms. John just stood there awkwardly as the brothers said things too quiet for Sherlock to hear.

When they turned to John and the three started to walk back to his tombstone, Sherlock was bewildered at their actions.

Were they really going to take the words of a six year old concerning strangers in the cemetery?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Dr. Watson, if I may ask another, perhaps rather personal, question?"

John raised an eyebrow to the teen, whose eyes were watching his charge before turning to the doctor for his full attention.

"I was just rather curious on the true nature of your relationship with Mr. Holmes?"

John took a big sigh, shaking his head as he looked down and placed his hand to his chin. "Honestly don't know where to begin to answer that question, Kaito."

Where to begin? "It's a loaded question, I'd assume. I think you already know this, but I'm only here on Conan's account, and I'm not really very familiar with the whole situation. Could we start at the very beginning then? Maybe you could tell me how you two met?"

That seemed to be a good place to start.

John thought so too as he nodded before he began, "We met at St Bart's through a, er, mutual friend. We got a flat-share together at Baker Street and started working on a case together - well, on my blog I called it 'A Study in Pink'.

"And we just...clicked."

"Yeah, I read it when I was researching," Kaito commented, making John stumble a bit as he wasn't expecting it. Kaito, not noticing, continued, "Very well written, if you ask me. A beginning of a beautiful relationship." He realized his mistake and chuckled nervously. "Ah, sorry, sorry, please continue."

After a few moments of silence, he did. "T…thank you, I suppose. The blog seems to have done more damage than necessary unfortunately." John chuckled. "But it was fun for me to work on, and we had a little argument about it, actually." He paused.

"During the case, I don't know, we... I found myself in a rather strange situation. We became really close after it. I don't know exactly when my feelings changed, but I guess seeing my best friend die in a traumatic way right in front of my face was as good a wake-up call as any." John bit his lip.

Kaito opened his mouth to say something, but wisely just decided to let it open mutely before quickly closing it shut.

"...I love him."

There were a few more moments of silence, as Kaito didn’t know how to respond to that, before he whispered, “How do you define it The emotion known as love?"

John snorted. "Truthfully the man's impossible to work with. Very rude, very selfish." A sharp intake of breath. "Very, very selfish."

Kaito was still struggling to understand. "So you miss him. How did that transform into love?"

John turned to him at that point, with a hard expression on his face, and Kaito nervously took a step back and waved his hands as if in an attempt to defuse a situation. "I-I have nothing against your relationship; in fact I knew it was more than just a friendship. It's just…" He looked away and scratched the back of his head. "I want to know…if I'm in the same situation as you and just have yet to see my love interest in question die. And, no offense, I don't want to go through that kind of wake-up call."

Okay, so maybe Kaito wasn't so sure about his special someone just yet. Maybe if John thought he did he'd be willing to give him some advice so he wouldn't have to ever be in the doctor's situation. And maybe he'll figure out how love works as well. Dr. Watson had much more experience than him anyway.

John chuckled. "I can't help you with that. It's something that you're going to have to figure out for yourself."

Kaito deflated at that, and just moved his eyes to check on Conan, just to make sure that he was still there and hasn't run off anywhere. The detective looked to be very preoccupied but still in the area so Kaito brought his attention back to the doctor, who followed his eyes to the child and were now back to the teen. John seemed to be thought himself before he nodded, placing his hand on Kaito's shoulders and said, "I don't know who your special person is. For everyone it's different. For me, it was when I realized that Sherlock – my flat-mate, my colleague, my friend – was gone."

"You realized you couldn't live without him?" Kaito asked, wondering if there was anyone he couldn't live without with.

"I've been with many women, and none of them affected me like Sherlock does. I've actually lost a few because of him," John confessed, Kaito surprised. John's a lady's man? He never would've guessed!

"But again, it's all up to you," the doctor finished, looking over to Conan by the shadows. "Should we, I dunno, call him back? What is he even doing over there?"

"That…is an excellent question." Kaito could take a hint. "Conan, Conan!"

The chibi detective turned, and Kaito yelled loudly in their native tongue, "Do you know how much awkwardness I am dealing with right now? What are you even doing over here? Care to enlighten me?"

Conan quickly turned to reply, "I'm not the one who asked you to come half-way around the world with me. I'm actually in the middle of something quite important." He paused, as if weighing the pros and cons of continuing what he was doing by the shadows. After the mental weighing, he sighed. "But now the mood's been ruined, it might as well be over."

Kaito looked over back to John, who seemed to be just tuning them out and waiting for them to finish awkwardly by the side. Seriously what was it with the awkwardness between everything? "Well, can you come back over here and maybe we can find the person that we're here for?" he asked. What was he even doing over there?

Conan looked back to the shadows that have been his company for the past ten minutes, and with one last look, turned and ran back with the people he'd come along with. Kaito felt like playing the brother angle – he introduced himself as the chaperone of the chibi detective to the doctor, acting like a big brother was one of the things he could get away with, right? He was mildly surprised when Conan played into the acting, running into his arms. "The sibling card, nice," he muttered quietly under his breath, but Kaito knew that he'd be able to tell. After all, he read him so well when Kid was performing his heists.

The teen lifted him up into the air, bringing him along his side when he asked, "What's so interesting by the shade over there?"

Conan was quiet for a few moments before he murmured back in Japanese, "Usually I'd tell you to speak in English but I think it would be best if our other companion doesn't know of the situation just yet." He tilted his head slightly to the left, towards the shadows that he seemed so obsessed with.

"Over there is the person we're here for. I've been conversing with him for the past ten minutes. I've done all that I could," Conan whispered. "Everything's out of my hands and it's all up to him."

Kaito didn't think he'd fully understood, but he'd understood enough. He nodded, and moved slightly so that Conan could speak to John, switching to English so that he'd be understood, "I believe that if we go to the tombstone, he might appear to you shortly."

John gave a slight nod of his head and spun in his heel, back towards the slab of marble and began walking. Since Conan made no motion to place his feet to the ground, Kaito took that to signal that he wouldn't mind to continue being held and carried him along as he followed John to the tombstone.

Mr. Holmes would come; Tantei-kun wouldn't have come back until he was sure of it.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The walk to the grave was a short but silent one. Kaito could only hope that Dr. Watson wasn't angry with his very personal question. When he asked about their relationship he surely wasn't expecting a love confession. Especially when the person who confessed didn't confess to the object of their affections.

When they'd reached the marble, John asked, "How are you so sure he'll appear?"

"It's just one of my deductions," Conan replied just as Kaito moved to place him back on the ground. "He should be here shortly."

"It's not that we don't trust you, Tantei-kun." Kaito wouldn't call him Conan if he could help it. "It's just, I don't know, should we be here when Mr. Holmes appears?"

Conan took off his backpack, placed it on the ground, opened the top flap and began to rummage inside of it. After a few moments he pulled out a toy shovel, pulling and stretching it to make it an adult sized shovel. He handed it to the teen. "Start digging," he commanded. Kaito and John blinked.

Kaito was horrified. "Tantei-kun...you...you want me to defile the dead?"

"Conan, I don't think this is a good idea," John input, Kaito nodding enthusiastically in agreement. He didn't want to dig up a grave, regardless if the person it concerned wasn't really dead.

"We need to do something drastic to bring him out of hiding," Conan replied bluntly. He frowned, thinking about it more. Alright, there  _might_  be a body underneath, but he needs a little more of a push."

Kaito was still reluctant to do this task. "I don't think I can do this!"

John snatched the shovel from his hands. "I'll do it. I'm a doctor; you two shouldn't be tainted with the dirt of death, not at your age."

Kaito couldn't help but snort, making John look up to him in confusion. He answered, "This kid's already been tainted with death. I'm honestly surprised that there hasn't been a murder case concerning him yet."

John slowly brought his focus and attention to Conan, who quickly shook his head to deny the teen's claim and threw a rock at him. Unfortunately for Conan, Kaito merely moved out of the way. "He speaks nonsense! Please, just continue."

John opened his mouth to say something, something that probably would have about his concern about Kaito's statement, but instead he just closed it and shook his head. Now wasn't the time for this conversation. He raised the handle and stabbed into the earth, placing his heel on the metal and pushing down force into it. He grabbed the handle, pushing it further in before raising it and placing the bit of dirt on the side that marked the beginning of a moved dirt pile.

This continued in silence for a good few minutes - a good half a stone of dirt had accumulated at that point - before there was a crinkle of dead leaves that made everyone hitch in their breath.

John made no move to pick up the shovel he had dropped as he looked up, completely breathless.

Kaito turned his head and was wide-eyed.

Conan just smirked behind his hand.

Emerging from the shadows was the one and only Sherlock Holmes.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation, and a few other revelations.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Shinichi stumbled upon Sherlock's blog entirely by accident.

He was young then, yet old enough to be home alone while his parents were away on important business. It had to be important – why else would they abandon their only child?

Then again, what his parents did was never really under his control. Who cares if he needs someone to help him with his homework? He was already smart enough to handle it on his own. Who cares if he needed a parent to discuss his amazing grades? It wasn't as if his parents didn't know he was brilliant. Who cares if he needed someone to hold onto when it was pouring and thundering outside? It was just a simple weather reaction and he did have that doll that his uncle gave him. Was it his uncle? All he knew was that it was a present from his father's friend. Besides, he was supposed to be too mature for dolls.

For the longest time, he always thought that Ran approached him out of pity. Because Shinichi was always alone. Or because of his famous parents. It took her a long time to teach him that it was because she wanted to actually know the quiet boy. She was awesome like that.

In the end, Shinichi decided that he wanted to practice his English. He already read all the English books in his library. He'd thought that they would have English copies of his father's novels, but he couldn't find those. He didn't like speaking English, but didn't mind reading it. Just another item to add to the list of potential skills he needs to keep up.

His father was a best-selling author. His mother was a world-renowned actress. How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

Soccer was pretty fun, but it didn't require enough thought. At least, not as much thought as he would prefer to put into it. He wanted to challenge himself, and figuring out the opponent's game plan wasn't that difficult. His parents would be disappointed if he were to choose that to be his career. But nothing really tickled his fancy. So he'll stick with soccer for now and in the meantime, maybe pick up an instrument, write something...the list goes on.

Something – anything – to get his mind going.

He decided to try and hack into the computer in the library, having nothing else to do. No more English material for him to read, but on the Internet the information was limitless. It seems like a good place to start.

His parents were away doing their respective things for their careers. Agasa-Hakase was home next door inventing, popping in every now and then. Making phone calls every couple hours or so. Just making sure that he was, you know,  _alive._ Just a quick "Shinichi! Just checking on you. Great you answered. Gotta go bye!" before hanging up the phone. Couldn't leave those inventions alone for a second after all.

It wasn't that difficult. Guessing a password while being given a hint was a piece of cake.

Shinichi was looking for the Internet Browser icon when he saw there was already a window open, just minimized.

"The Science of Deduction?"

He clicked on it.

_I'm Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective._

_I'm not going to go into detail about how I do what I do because chances are you wouldn't understand. If you've got a problem that you want me to solve, then contact me. Interesting cases only please._

_This is what I do:_

_1\. I observe everything._

_2\. From what I observe, I deduce everything._

_3\. When I've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how mad it might seem, must be the truth._

_If you need assistance, contact me and we'll discuss its potential._

Shinichi made sure he read correctly. "A consulting detective?" Well at least he already found an English website. He decided to check it out.

Five hours later and Shinichi couldn't believe what he was reading. The way this man thought, his brilliant deductions, Shinichi smiled.

This... this was his calling.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"What..."

Everyone turned expectantly to John, whose gaze is entirely focused on the man in front of him.

No one expected John to just walk up and deck Sherlock in the face.

Sherlock stumbled, trying to keep his footing. He wiped the blood off of his lips and didn't look surprised in the slightest. Conan and Kaito turn to John, to see him shaking - with anger no doubt.

"I can't believe you would do this to me! I can't believe..." John fell to his knees with a loud sob. "Sherlock, you arse!" He picked the shovel he had dropped and started to make his way back to Sherlock, eyes red with tears. Sherlock gave him a small smile and left himself wide open.

Conan and Kaito stepped in. "Mr. Watson. Mr. Watson! Let's at least give Mr. Holmes a chance to explain himself!" Kaito defended, with wide-eyed Conan nodding as backup.

John looked to the Japanese children, both watching with concern. Conan's eyes darted between him and Sherlock, before John dropped his shovel. "You have one minute," he told Sherlock, who nodded.

"There was no other option, John. Moriarty was going to kill you, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson. If there was anything I could have done to prevent that, I would have done it." Sherlock said matter of fact.

"Why didn't you say anything?" John demanded. When Sherlock didn't answer, John then lowered his head. "Why do you have to carry the burden on your own shoulders and not allow anyone else to help you?" he whispered before dropping the shovel.

Sherlock walked up to John and placed his hand on his shoulder with a small smile on his face. "It is not your cross to bear."

John brushed off the hand on his shoulder. "Like hell it isn't. We've been through so much together, Sherlock. You think that we couldn't add another to the list?"

Sherlock took a deep breath before he sighed. "Just forget about me, John. It would be for the best." He turned to walk away.

"Sherlock, don't you dare think you can walk away from me!" John yelled, making Sherlock stop right in his tracks. He turned back, only to have John tackle him down to the ground.

They tumbled for a bit before Kaito stepped in. "Alright, alright, break it up you two." He gestured to little Conan, not seeing the small smile on the child's face. "You don't want to make a poor impression on this child, do you?"

Everyone turned to Conan, watching him push his hands together, muttering something underneath his breath.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" he asked.

Conan kept pushing his hands closer together. Kaito stepped a bit closer to him, listened carefully and heard Conan quietly murmuring, "Now kiss." Kaito just facepalmed himself and sighed.

_And he said he wouldn't let his fanboy tendencies get ahead of him._

Then again, he was straight to the point. "Exactly. You should just kiss and make up."

The wording must have been lost on them as everyone ignored Kaito. As Sherlock and John picked each other up from the ground, Conan giggled. They dusted themselves of the dirt and bits of grass that caught on their clothes, both avoiding each other's gaze. Conan was just itching to pull out his camera and take a few pictures of the two together, but he knew better than to do that. Instead he sighed happily, grinning ear to ear with a blush on his cheeks. When Sherlock and John focused their attention on him, he stood up at attention.

"What were you doing?" Sherlock asked, he and John frowning slightly.

Conan bashfully looked away. "Nothing! Nothing at all." He pointed to the taxi with his thumb. "I'll be right back!" He dashed off before anyone could say anything. While Kaito wanted to tag along, he had to make sure that John wouldn't kill Sherlock or anything. Besides, Tantei-kun could take care of himself.

He always does.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Conan quickly made his way back to the taxi, needing some space from his heroes… and Kaitou Kid.

Kudou Shinichi does not ship people. That just wasn't right. (Characters are a completely different story. The Tenth Doctor and Rose were one of his OTPs and always will be.)

But Sherlock and John together acted like such an old married couple, it was hard to believe that they weren't officially together. Shinichi would know if they were, keeping as much tabs on Sherlock Holmes as he possibly could without physically being in London or having any real connections in England. And without looking like a stalker.

Well, maybe he was a stalker? He did come all the way from Japan to settle this matter.

Anyway! The way they were so bitterly honest with each other. There had to be a reason why Sherlock did what he did with John over the phone and not face to face. From what he gathered, Moriarty must have cornered him on the roof of the hospital and didn't give him any other option. The fact that they were not together in that moment says a lot. John gives Sherlock a strength that he doesn't think he realizes.

The same kind of strength that Kid gives Conan.

Shinichi didn't know when he started having feelings for Kid. It might have been when they first had their little encounter, if it could be called that, at the clock tower all those heists ago. Shinichi was still new to the whole 'Kaitou Kid' thing, and had a lot of fun trying to track Kid down. Helping Nakamori-keibu's staff was all he could do at the time, but he knew that it was more than enough.

Besides, he knew from that heist that Kid wasn't a bad person, wanting to bring attention to the clock tower before its owner could tear it down and sell those diamonds that ended up being fake. Including Kid, that clock tower had a lot of sentimental value to a lot of people.

To Conan.

It was at that clock tower that Haibara caught him. Being the genius that she was, she figured it out before even he did.

_She gazed at him with a knowing look in her eye. "Edogawa-kun, do you ever wonder why you obsess over Kaitou Kid so much?" she asked simply as the other members of the Shounen Tanteidan watched a local magic show being performed._

" _Eh? Kaitou Kid?" Conan stared at her, deadpanned. "I don't obsess over him."_

_She scoffed. "Don't give me that. We all see it, you know. The way your eyes linger on him just a tad longer than necessary, the way you always blush when he gives you attention above anyone else. Even Ayumi-chan sees it."_

_Conan frowned. "See what?"_

_Haibara rolled her eyes. "You really are dense about these things aren't you?" She gestured him close, Conan doing so to whisper in his ear,_

" _You like Kaitou Kid."_

_Conan immediately recoiled. "I do not!" he denied firmly, to which Haibara snickered._

" _Keep telling yourself that," she replied, shrugging off his arguments and making her way to the public magician that had all the children amazed. "If it's any consolation," she said with her back to Conan. "I'm rooting for you two."_

That day was the day that things started to change. Conan started to notice how he started to see Ran more like an overbearing sister more than a love interest, and how he would always wait in anticipation for a notice for a heist from the Moonlit Magician. He started to realize how much he appreciated the respect and adoration he received from the thief, when all he would get from practically everyone else was a simple shrug.

As much as he hated to admit it, he really was dense about those kinds of things.

But clearly not as dense as others.

"Idiot," Conan murmured to himself more than anyone else with a smile and tears down his face. "I'm such an idiot."

About coming here. About seeing Sherlock and John.

About Kid.

His life was already screwed up as it is, Shinichi didn't need his love life getting involved.

But then again, it was just something he didn't really have control over, was it?

"My, my, what do we have here?"

Conan quickly wiped his eyes from behind his glasses to find himself face to face with a man he knows he has seen before, but can't place a name.

"S-sorry," he said, smiling to try and distract himself from the ache in his heart. He looked away, keeping his eyes to the ground.

"No no, it's a pleasure, little Conan Edogawa." At his name, Conan started to look back up. "After all, I finally get to meet the famous 'Silver Bullet' that my favorite always seems to never stop talking about."

"Sil…ver… Bullet?" Conan immediately caught sight of Vermouth and went to make a mad dash back to Sherlock, John, and Kid, but felt a jab of a needle in his neck.

As he started to lose consciousness, Conan caught a wide grin on the man and a sad defeated look on Vermouth's as she caught him before he hit the ground.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kaito watched Conan walk away with a small smile on his face. He looked so happy, yet so sad and Kaito wanted to know why. Sherlock took a deep breath, bringing him back to attention to the two gentlemen in front of him. "If you hate me, I understand," Sherlock said as he turned away.

"What –" John grabbed Sherlock's shoulder before he could leave. "I don't hate you, Sherlock. I could never hate you." He pulled Sherlock into a bear hug, squeezing tight. Shocked, it took Sherlock a minute to reciprocate, hugging John just as tightly.

"I'm… I'm sorry, John," Sherlock said. "I thought I was doing what was best."

"You always do." John smiled. "And that's just fine."

"I love a happy ending." Kaito sighed happily.

"Oh, how interesting. I was expecting more violence from you, John. Not this… hugging business."

Everyone turned. Sherlock and John broke from their embrace.

"No…" John breathed.

"Tantei-kun!" Kaito made a break for the man holding the child hostage, but immediately stilled when the man pulled out a gun and held it to Conan's lopsided head.

"Don't move." The man grinned. "I'm not afraid to pull a trigger on a child." He looked at Kaito and then Conan with a curious look on his face. "I certainly did not expect this."

"What have you done to him?" Kaito exclaimed, eyes only for Conan. The man merely snickered.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're thinking. He's… sleeping." He cleared his throat, causing for a woman to reveal herself from the trees.

"You…" Kaito widened his eyes in realization. "You're that man from the airport!"

"I thought you were dead," John whispered. "Everyone thinks you're dead."

Sherlock said nothing.

"Chris, take this for a moment." He handed the unconscious child to the woman. She took Conan without a word, and began walking towards the taxi that the three took to get here.

"The taxi driver!" Kaito knew the driver was just too quiet when they were in the car.

The man turned towards the older detective, gun pointed at the three. "Well, my dear Sherlock, it seems we have to restart our match?" He pointed to the child and woman behind him. "I'll just take this for some incentive."

Sherlock pulled out a gun from his coat. "And what makes you think I won't shoot you right here where you stand?" he asked. He kept his eyes on the man, aimed straight for his heart.

"Pfft, everyone knows it's John here who has the good shot." He watched John from the corner of his eye pull out his own gun from his own coat. "Besides, if you kill me now, where's the fun in that?"

"This is a really twisted idea of fun!" Kaito shouted, eyes darting all over the place. Trying to come up with a plan to save his Tantei-kun from danger but losing precious time with every step Vermouth took. How does everyone have a firearm in a country where holding one wasn't even legal? He doesn't even have his card gun with him, having left it in the hotel.

Sherlock didn't move the barrel; neither did John. "Give it up, Moriarty. There's no reason to get innocent civilians involved," John said.

"Oh, that child is far from innocent." Moriarty gave a sly grin to Kaito. "But you know that don't you, Kuroba-kun?"

"You don't know anything!" Kaito yelled, balling up his fists. He didn't care that there was a gun aimed at him. He couldn't just stand here helpless and watch Tantei-kun get kidnapped!

"Oh, I know enough. My friend back there told me all about your precious Conan." He gave Kaito a wink, which made the teen shudder in disgust. "My deepest apologies, but I need him for a bit. Have to even the teams after all."

Kaito blinked. "Teams?"

Moriarty gestured to the three in front of him. "You, Conan, Sherlock, and John make four. Hardly fair against just Chris and I. I had to even the odds. I think little Conan Edogawa would make a lovely addition to our team." He gave Kaito a pout. "Sorry to borrow your boyfriend."

"B-boyfriend?!" Kaito sputtered. "Tantei-kun's like eight!"

This had Moriarty frowning in earnest. "Oh? You don't know?" He grinned. "Well, all the more fun."

"What are you talking about?" John demanded.

Moriarty ignored John and turned to Sherlock. "You've been awfully quiet. Anything you'd like to add?"

Before Sherlock could say a word, there was a honk of a horn. The car was backing up for Moriarty to climb into the passenger's side with Conan in tow. "Well that's my cue. Toodles, everyone! Hope to see you all very soon!"

And with that the three sped off.

"Ta-Tantei-kun…" Kaito turned to Sherlock and John. "What the fuck just happened!?"

"A child was just kidnapped by the world's only consulting criminal," Sherlock said. "But enough about that. Tell me, Kaito, about your Tantei-kun.

"Tell me everything."

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


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